In a rectifications report published on Aug. 27, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) announced that a number of authorities had been found responsible for the backlogged state of China's trademark registration process.

It was reported in April that many companies had been struggling to obtain certificates of trademark registration for up to half a year. Some trademark agents even announced that they hadn't successfully registered since Aug. 21, 2015. After thoroughly investigating the case, SAIC found that this delay was caused by an overly complicated procedure for procurement of certificate paper and inefficient interdepartmental communications, raising a storm of public controversy.

SAIC took a number of steps to rectify the situation. As a result, nine cadres have been punished, a written examination has been instated and trademark registration leadership has been shuffled.

From February to April, the central inspection group carried out inspection of 32 units. On Aug. 27, nineteen units and four regions published rectifications reports, including SAIC.

Other authorities and departments that have recently tightened their inspection procedures include the China National Tourism Administration, which improved its supervisory methods and set up tourism police in 30 cities nationwide; the Bureau of Foreign Expert Affairs, which began to declare the service expenditure as a part of specific budget beginning in June; and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), which gave disciplinary warnings to two of its executive officers for issuing bonuses and holiday allowances above the permitted standard.