Application conditions and document requirements for expediting the examination of post-registration business such as trademark modification, assignment, renewal, etc.

Recently, the CNIPA issued a notice on "Expediting Examination of Post-Registration Business such as Trademark Modification, Assignment, and Renewal", further clarifying the scope of trademark business that can be expedited and the nine situations in which expedited examination can be conducted. At the same time, additional document requirements for filing an expedited application have been added.

Generally, post-registration trademark applications such as trademark change and renewal typically take about 2-3 months from application to approval, while the examination time for assignment applications can take up to half a year. This brings inconvenience for rights holders who apply for listing, administrative and judicial procedures, and entry into shopping malls, supermarkets, or e-commerce platforms.

The introduction of this new policy is undoubtedly good news for rights holders. This means that rights holders can obtain approval certificates of trademark change, assignment, and renewal in a shorter period of time, preparing for their subsequent business activities and administrative and judicial actions.

First of all, the scope of post-registration applications specified in the Notice includes trademark change, renewal, assignment, license registration, cancellation, rectification, re-issuance of registration certificate, and other trademark post-registration business.

Secondly, the Notice mentions that market entities can apply for expedited examination if they meet one of the following situations:

(1) Enterprise applying for listing;
(2) Trademark pledge financing;
(3) Customs recordation of trademark rights;
(4) Investigation and handling of trademark infringement cases;
(5) Examination of trademark right confirmation cases in administrative procedures;
(6) Litigation cases in judicial procedures;
(7) Handling administrative licenses, filings, etc.;
(8) Major commercial activities, such as product entry into shopping malls, supermarkets, or e-commerce platforms, bidding;
(9) Other reasonable circumstances that require expediting the examination.

If the rights holder meets any of the above situations, they can directly submit an application for expedited examination to the Trademark Office or entrust an agency to do so. At the same time, the rights holder needs to provide relevant evidentiary materials for the above situations in order to facilitate examination. After examination, if the application meets the conditions for expedited examination, the Trademark Office will expedite the examination and make a decision in accordance with the law. If the application does not meet the conditions for expedited examination, the applicant will be notified by phone and the application documents will not be returned.

For the original link of the Notice, please refer to: https://sbj.cnipa.gov.cn/sbj/sbsq/sqzn/202303/t20230330_26194.html