Enterprises, institutions and individual industrial and commercial households that need to obtain the exclusive right to use trademarks for the services they provide shall apply to the Trademark Office for registration of service trademarks.
The provisions of this Law on commodity trademarks shall apply to service trademarks. Article 5 Where a registered trademark is required by the State, an application for trademark registration must be made. Without approval and registration, it may not be sold in the market. Article 6 A trademark user shall be responsible for the quality of the goods in which he uses the trademark. The administrative departments for industry and commerce at all levels shall supervise the quality of commodities through trademark management and stop cheating consumers. Article 7 The characters, figures or their combinations used in a trademark shall have distinctive features and be easy to identify. Where a registered trademark is used, it shall be marked with a "registered trademark" or a registration mark. Article 8 A trademark shall not use the following words and figures:
(1) identical with or similar to the name, national flag, national emblem, military flag and medal of People's Republic of China (PRC);
(2) identical with or similar to a foreign name, national flag, national emblem or military flag;
(3) identical with or similar to the flag, emblem and name of an intergovernmental international organization;
(4) identical with or similar to the symbols and names of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent;
(5) The common name and figure of the commodity;
(six) directly indicate the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the goods;
(7) ethnic discrimination;
(8) exaggerating propaganda and deception;
(nine) harmful to socialist morality or other adverse effects.
Geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign geographical names known to the public shall not be used as trademarks, except those with other meaning; Registered trademarks using geographical names shall remain valid. Article 9 Where a foreigner or foreign enterprise applies for trademark registration in China, it shall do so in accordance with the agreement signed between the country to which it belongs and People's Republic of China (PRC) or the international treaties to which it is a party, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity. Article 10 When applying for trademark registration and handling other trademark matters in China, foreigners or foreign enterprises shall entrust an organization designated by the state as an agent. Chapter II Application for Trademark Registration Article 11 Where an applicant applies for trademark registration, the category and name of the commodity using the trademark shall be filled in according to the prescribed commodity classification table. Article 12 Where the same applicant uses the same trademark on different kinds of goods, it shall file an application for registration according to the classification of goods. Article 13 Where a registered trademark needs to be used on other goods of the same class, a separate application for registration shall be filed. Article 14 Where a registered trademark needs to be changed in words or graphics, a new application for registration shall be filed. Article 15 Where a registered trademark needs to change the name, address or other registered items of the registrant, an application for change shall be filed. Chapter III Examination and Approval of Trademark Registration Article 16 A trademark that meets the relevant provisions of this Law shall be preliminarily examined and approved by the Trademark Office and announced. Article 17 Where a trademark applied for registration does not conform to the relevant provisions of this Law, or is identical with or similar to a trademark that has been registered or preliminarily approved by others on the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office shall reject the application without making an announcement. Article 18 Where two or more applicants apply for registration with the same or similar trademarks on the same commodity or similar commodities, the trademark applied earlier shall be preliminarily examined and announced; Where an application is filed on the same day, the prior trademark shall be preliminarily examined and announced, and the application of others shall be rejected without announcement. Article 19 Any person may raise an objection to a trademark that has been preliminarily examined and approved within three months from the date of announcement. If there is no objection or it is ruled that the objection cannot be established, the registration shall be approved, a trademark registration certificate shall be issued and an announcement shall be made; If the objection is established, the registration shall not be approved. Article 20 The the State Council Administration for Industry and Commerce shall set up a Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to handle trademark disputes. Article 21 The Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing of the trademark whose application is rejected and whose announcement is not made. If the applicant is not satisfied, he may apply for reexamination within 15 days after receiving the notice, and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a final decision and notify the applicant in writing. Article 22 Where an objection is raised to a trademark that has been preliminarily examined and announced, the Trademark Office shall listen to the facts and reasons stated by the objector and the applicant, and make a ruling after investigation and verification. If a party refuses to accept the notice, it may apply for reconsideration within 15 days after receiving the notice. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a final ruling and notify the dissenter and the applicant in writing. Chapter IV Renewal, Assignment and License for the Use of Registered Trademarks