China’s Trademark Statistics for 2017 Released
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) of China has recently released statistics on trademark filings, registrations, and protection in China for 2017. According to the data released by SAIC, in 2017, applications for trademark registration in China reached 5,748,000, an increase of 55.7% year-on-year. On cumulative basis, as of the end of 2017, applications for trademark registration amounted to 27,842,000, approved registrations to 17,301,000, and approved registrations in force to 14,920,000 in China.
During the year, 4,810 domestic applicants, up 59.6% year-on-year, filed for international trademark registration under the Madrid System, placing China the third among members of the Madrid Protocol for international trademark applications.
In terms of trademark protection, the administrations for industry and commerce and the market supervision departments in China placed emphasis on the protection of well-known marks, geographical indications, foreign-related marks, and time-honoured marks during the year. In addition, 30,000 cases of illegal trademark acts (down 5.1% year-on-year) were investigated and handled nationwide in 2017, of which 27,000 (down 4.3%) related to infringement and passing-off of trademarks.
