China Strengthens the Protection for Network Trademark

The Chinese governmental organs are strengthening the protection for network trademarks with the focus laid on the solutions of such new problems as the conflicts over website name and trademark, online ad. and online purchase.

Hou Liye, Deputy Director of the Trademark Bureau of State Administration of Industry and Commerce, pointed out at the "2000' Symposium on Intelligence Property Rights of China's Inland and Hong Kong SAR" that the fast popularization of network in China and its ever expanding service scope made problems crop up concerning the network trademark, which is closely linked with the protection of trademark franchise.

Hou Liye said in order to solve the problem of the conflicts concerning web-site name and trademark franchise, the Trademark Bureau, by joining hands with the Chinese Web-name Registration Organizations, registered as defined the web-names for the well-known trademarks in China. This move has effectively contained the ill behavior of scrambling for registering the well-known web-names. At the same time she remarked that the development of e-commerce would spark more net-related trademark problems which should be studied deeply by business administration departments for seeking feasible and practical solutions compatible with the national conditions in China.

The statistical figure shows the people using Internet in China have exceeded nine million and there sees a bright vista for the development of e-commerce ahead.

In 1999, the business administration organs investigated and prosecuted 32,298 cases concerning trademark violations with the total fine exceeding 0.1 billion yuan, 0.2 billion pieces of trademark revoked and compensation for the defendants worth of 5.7 million yuan.

China has always attached great importance to the protection of trademarks as part of intellectual property rights. As stipulated by the Trademark Law the judicial and business administration organs have the rights to deal with the cases of trademark tort and fabrications.

China has begun to amend the Trademark Law in effect by extending the legal scope to new trademark forms such as scent, voice, and multi-dimension, says Hou.



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