In co-operation with the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) IPR2 supported the organisation of a seminar on 20-21 September 2010, Beijing for officials from the Trademark Office (CTMO) and the Trademark Review Adjudication Board (TRAB) of SAIC, as well as industry representatives, on new issues related to registration of trademarks, namely bad faith trademark filings.

The seminar helped to initiate discussions between officials and experts on current issues and to improve knowledge and understanding of the officials on bad faith trademark applications, as well as present solutions on how to handle the problem.

The seminar benefited from the joint contributions of SAIC, the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) – Europe’s trademark and designs agency, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). Chinese, European, American and Japanese officials as well as practitioners working the field of trademarks reviewed and discussed questions and problems related to bad faith applications by drawing from experience in their national systems.

Bad faith trademark applications are of particular concern for policy-makers and entrepreneurs because they undermine fair competition and challenge companies’ strategy and investment. Being able to draw a line between permissible trademark applications and bad faith applications is fundamental. In China the legal mechanisms for dealing with bad faith applications are currently highly debated. Thus, it is very valuable for the officials responsible for dealing with trademark applications in SAIC to receive respective information and discuss the experiences as well as past and current debates in Europe, the US and Japan on this issue. Therefore, the topic has also been specifically singled out as a one of the key subjects for further in-depth cooperation and exchange in the EU-China IPR Working Group 2009.

The seminar was opened by Mr An Qinghu, Counsel, International Cooperation Department, SAIC; Mr Ignacio de Medrano Caballero, Deputy Director, Institutional Affairs and External Relations Department, OHIM; Mr Mitsuo Konda, Director, Trademark Examination Standards Office, JPO; and Mr Marc Bergsman, Administrative Trademark Judge, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO.

                                                                                                                      (ipr2.org)