According to a notice issued by Shanghai Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce (Shanghai Municipal AIC), applications for recognition as a Well-known Trademark within Shanghai of 2016 started on April 1
st
. The annual meeting of the Shanghai Trademark Association was held on April 25
th
2016. Of course Lehman Lee and Xu, as a long time member of the Shanghai Trademark Association attended the meeting. Our lawyers loved the change to review the new policy on applications to be recognized as a Well-known Trademark with Shanghai.
According to the
Measures of Shanghai Municipality for the Recognition and Protection of Well-Known Trademarks
, and other related regulations, the purpose of Well-Known Trademarks is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the owners, users and consumers of well-known trademarks.
Any trademark which has been recognized as a Well-Known Trademark within Shanghai will be granted additional protections within the city. For example the mark will be listed in Shanghai’s Catalogue of Protected Well-known Trademarks. Local authorities will make extra efforts to investigate and punish activities potentially infringing on the right to exclusive use of registered Well-known Trademarks. If the infringement occurs in another administrative area in China, the trademark owner may petition the Shanghai AIC to coordinate with the local AIC where infringing activities are occurring. To be recognized as a Well-Known Trademark within Shanghai is also strong supporting evidence when applying to be recognized as a Well-known trademark within China.
Any trademark which has been recognized as Well-Known Trademarks within Shanghai is able to earn a prize from the local government of up to RMB 100,000. In Jiading District and Jingshan District of Shanghai, the prize award may reach RMB 300,000!
Becoming a Well-Known Trademark in Shanghai offers many benefits, but they don’t pass these around to just anybody. An application must demonstrate meeting at least 14 criteria, including requirements as to market share, sales volume, and the profit margin over the past 3 years.
Want your Trademark to be recognized as Well-Known? Want to earn that RMB 300,000 prize? Contact our Shanghai lawyers and we’ll help you out!