Article 1 With a view to ensuring that matters of trademark review and adjudication are handled correctly and promptly, to protecting the lawful rights and interests of parties, and safeguarding and supervising the exercise by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (referred to below as the Trademark Office) of its functions and powers according to law, these Rules are formulated on the basis of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (referred to below as the Trademark Law) and the Implementing Regulations under the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (referred to below as the Implementing Regulations).

Article 2 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (referred to below as the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board) is an administrative organ established by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and responsible for the review and adjudication of trademarks in respect of the determination of the attribution of the trademark right, exercising the right of final adjudication on matters of trademark review and adjudication according to law.

Article 3 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board independently exercises jurisdiction over matters concerning trademark review and adjudication according to law.

Article 4 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall handle matters of trademark review and adjudication by taking the facts as basis and using the law as criterion.

Article 5 The parties in trademark review and adjudication shall enjoy equal legal status.

Article 6 Where provisions in an international treaty concluded or acceded to by the People's Republic of China differ from those in the Trademark Law or its Implementing Regulations, the provisions in the international treaty shall apply, with the exception of those provisions in respect of which the People's Republic of China has declared its reservations.

Article 7 In handling matters of trademark review and adjudication, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board adopts the system of deciding by ballot of Board members and follows the principle of the minority submitting to the majority.

Article 8 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall conduct hearings on matters of trademark review and adjudication in writing.

Article 9 Where a party intends to apply for or participate in the review and adjudication of a trademark, he may entrust the matter to a trademark agency approved by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or he may go through the formalities directly at the Administration.
Where a foreigner or foreign enterprise intends to apply for or participate in the review and adjudication of a trademark, he or it shall entrust the matter to a trademark agency designated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Article 10 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board accepts applications for review and adjudication in respect of the following matters:
(1) protesting against the rejection by the Trademark Office of an application for trademark registration;
(2) protesting against the decision of the Trademark Office on an opposition;
(3) protesting against the rejection by the Trademark Office of an application for assignment of a registered trademark;
(4) protesting against the rejection by the Trademark Office of an application for renewal of the registration of a trademark;
(5) protesting against the cancellation by the Trademark Office of a registered trademark;
(6) disputing a registered trademark;
(7) requesting the cancellation of a trademark regarded as having been improperly registered;
(8) other matters concerning the determination of the attribution of the trademark right and the review and adjudication of trademarks prescribed by laws and regulations.

Article 11 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall be composed of a chairman, a number of vice chairmen and members. There shall be 15 to 17 Board members.

Article 12 Members of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall fulfil the following conditions:
(1) being conversant with trademark law;
(2) having been engaged in trademark examination work for three years or in other legal work for five years;
(3) being civil servants at the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Article 13 The chairman, vice chairman and members of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall be appointed by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Article 14 The chairman of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall exercise the following functions and powers:
(1) taking charge of the routine work of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board;
(2) deciding on the exclusion of Board members for exercising their function;
(3) examining and signing Letters of Trademark Review and Adjudication for issuance.
The chairman of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may ask the vice chairman to exercise his functions and powers on his behalf.

Article 15 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall set up an Advisory Group of Experts to solicit their opinions on relevant questions in matters concerning trademark review and adjudication.
The Advisory Group of Experts shall be composed of a number of legal experts in the field of intellectual property. Its members shall be appointed by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.

Article 16 An application for trademark review and adjudication shall fulfil the following conditions:
(1) The applicant must have the lawful qualifications of a subject;
(2) The application shall be filed within the statutory time limit;
(3) A written application and relevant documents conforming to the provisions shall be submitted according to law;
(4) There shall be a specific request and factual basis for review and adjudication;
(5) The application shall fall within the scope of review and adjudication of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board;
(6) The applicant shall pay the review and adjudication fees according to law.

Article 17 Where a party entrusts a trademark agency with the matters of applying for or participating in trademark review and adjudication, he shall sent a power of attorney to the agent. The power of attorney appointing the agent shall indicate clearly the content of agency and the scope of the power entrusted. A power of attorney from a foreigner or foreign enterprise appointing an agent shall also indicate the nationality of the entrusting party.
A foreigner or foreign enterprise, when applying for or participating in trademark review and adjudication, shall use the Chinese language. The formalities for notarizing and authenticating the power of attorney appointing the agent and relevant certificates shall be handled on the principle of reciprocity. Where the documents are in foreign languages, Chinese translations shall be appended.

Article 18 Where a party applying for trademark review and adjudication is unable to go through the formalities within the prescribed time limit for irresistible causes or on other reasonable grounds, he may apply for an extension of thirty days before the expiration of the time limit. Whether the application is granted shall be decided by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.

Article 19 In respect of a trademark to which an opposition had been filed and adjudicated by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board before its registration is approved, the relevant party may not apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board again for review and adjudication regarding the matters prescribed in Article 10 (6) and (7) of these Rules on the basis of the same facts and reasons.

Article 20 Where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, within thirty days from the date of receipt of an application for Trademark Review and Adjudication and after examination, finds that the Application fulfils the statutory conditions, the Board shall accept it for handling and notify the relevant party in writing; where the Board finds that the Application does not fulfil the statutory conditions, it shall notify the relevant party in writing that the Application is not accepted and states the reason.
Where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board finds that the Application of the relevant party basically fulfils the statutory conditions but needs to be corrected, it may ask the relevant party to make corrections within the prescribed time limit; where no corrections are made within the time limit, it shall not accept the Application and shall notify the relevant party in writing and return all the application documents.

Article 21 Where an Application for Review and Adjudication is filed regarding the matters prescribed in Article 10 (2), (5), (6) and (7) of these Rules, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall, within fifteen days from the date of acceptance of the Application, send a copy of the Application to the respondent, who shall submit a written defence within the time limit prescribed by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.
With regard to the written defence submitted by the respondent, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may, where it deems necessary, send a copy of the written defence to the applicant. Where the respondent fails to submit a written defence or submits it after the expiration of the time limit, it will not affect the adjudication of the case by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.
With the permission of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the applicant and the respondent (including the agent) may examine the material relating to the case with the exception, however, of the business secrets of the opposite party.

Article 22 Before the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board makes an adjudication on the matter of trademark review and adjudication, the relevant party may withdraw the Application for Review and Adjudication.

Article 23 Where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board deals with a matter of trademark review and adjudication, more than two thirds of the members shall attend the Board meeting and make an adjudication according to the result of the vote by ballot.

Article 24 Where a member of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board believes himself to have an interest in the case or is related to the case in some other way, he shall apply for exclusion.
Where a party believes that a member of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has an interest in the case or is related to the case in some other way and may affect the equitable handling of the case, he has the right to apply for the exclusion of the member of the Board before an adjudication is made.

Article 25 The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has the right to request the relevant party to furnish evidence or supplement his evidence.

Article 26 Where the details of a matter of review and adjudication are complex and the facts are unclear, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board may conduct an investigation and, where necessary, call the two parties to hold an inquiry.

Article 27 In holding an inquiry, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall notify the parties of the date of the inquiry at least one month before the inquiry. Where a party has a justified reason, he may request a postponement ten days before the inquiry and whether it is postponed shall be decided by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Where a party, without a justified reason, fails to attend the inquiry or withdraws, without permission, in the middle of the inquiry, he shall be deemed to have abandoned the right to argue his case.

Article 28 In holding an inquiry, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall keep a record of the proceedings. Where a party or another participant in the review and adjudication holds there are omissions or errors in the record of his statements, he has the right to apply for corrections. Where corrections are denied, the application shall be recorded.
The members of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the record-keeping personnel, the parties and the other participants in the review and adjudication attending the inquiry shall affix their signatures or seals on the record.

Article 29 The written adjudication shall state clearly the request for review and adjudication, the facts, cause and result of the review and adjudication, and the date of adjudication with the seal of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board affixed.

Article 30 In respect of literal errors in the written adjudication or contents already adjudicated by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board but omitted in the written adjudication, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make corrections; a party may apply for corrections within thirty days from the date of receipt of the written adjudication.

Article 31 A written adjudication shall come into legal effect from the date on which it is signed and issued.

Article 32 Where a final adjudication made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board needs to be handled by the Trademark Office, it shall be turned over to the Trademark Office for handling.

Article 33 In respect of matters involving the property rights and interests of a trademark already enforced or disposed of, the adjudication has no retroactive effect.

Article 34 Where a party adduces evidence to prove the existence of one of the following situations with regard to an adjudication which has come into legal effect, he may file an application anew with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, but the enforcement of the adjudication shall not be stopped:
(1) where the matter adjudicated does not come within the scope of review and adjudication by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board;
(2) where the review and adjudication procedure contravenes the Trademark Law and the Implementing Regulations under the Trademark Law;
(3) where the evidence on which the adjudication is based has been falsified by the relevant party;
(4) where the opposite party has concealed evidence sufficient to adversely affect equitable adjudication.
Where the relevant party files anew an application for review and adjudication, he shall do so within one year of the coming into legal effect of the adjudication.

Article 35 In respect of the application for review and adjudication filed anew by a party, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a decision on whether it is to be accepted within thirty days of receipt. Where it fulfils the conditions for acceptance, the Board shall accept it and notify the applicant and the relevant parties in writing; where if it fails to fulfil the conditions for acceptance, the Board shall not accept it but shall notify the applicant of the non-acceptance in writing and state the reason.
Where the main content of the application is found to be untenable on examination, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall notify the applicant in writing.
Where the main content of the application is found to be tenable, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall reverse the adjudication already made and adjudicate anew.

Article 36 Matters in these Rules which are not enumerated exhaustively shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws, rules and regulations.

Article 37 The forms and contents of trademark review and adjudication documents shall be worked out and published by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Article 38 The relevant party shall pay the trademark review and adjudication fees according to the provisions. The specific scale and range shall be worked out and published by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly with the relevant departments.

Article 39 The State Administration for Industry and Commerce shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Rules.

Article 40 These Rules shall enter into force on the date of promulgation thereof.
(Unofficial Translation)