On the media briefing held by on November 23, 2017 in Beijing, the SAIC (State Administration of Industry and Commerce) announced that according to the recently released “Opinions of the SAIC about Deepening Reform to Facilitate Trademark Registration so as to enhance Trademark Registration Efficiency”(hereinafter referred to as the Opinions) the examination period for trademark registration would be shortened from 8 months to 6 months by late 2018, and the business cycle of trademark examination will be further shortened.

In order to cope with the momentum of rapid growth in the number of trademark registration applications and to further shorten the business cycle of trademark examination, according to the Opinions, it is desired that the time required for issuing the Notification of Acceptance of Trademark Registration Application is reduced from 3 months to 2 months, and the examination period for trademark registration reduced from 8 months to 6 months, the examination period for trademark transfer reduced from 6 months to 4 months, the examination period for trademark change and extension reduced from 3 months to 2 months, and the trademark search blind period reduced from 3 months to 2 months.

According to the introduction of Cui Changdong, who is Secretary of Party Committee and Deputy Director of the SAIC, in addition to the implemented trademark electronic announcement, by late 2017, it would be gradually realized that a notice of preliminary examination is issued within a week after preliminary approval of a trademark, and the overall period from the application to the issuance of trademark registration certification would be shorted by 1 to 2 months. It is planned that the establishment of an electronic system for the whole procedure of trademark common service would be accomplished in 2019.

It is learned that the SAIC is further seeking to shorten the legal time limit for objection from 3 months to 2 months, shorten the time limit for additional evidence, and shorten the cycle for trademark right confirmation.

According to the statistics, in 2016, the number of trademark registration application in China reached 3.691 million. It is estimated that the number may exceed 5 million in 2017. By late March, 2017, the total number of trademark application in the history in China has reached 22.931 million and the total number of registration reached 15.145 million, with 12.937 effective registered trademarks.