(1) Where an application for registration of a trademark is in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, the Trademark Office shall make a preliminary examination and approval and publish it.
Article 28 Where a trademark for which registration has been applied is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law or is identical with or similar to another person's trademark that has been registered or has been preliminatively approved in respect of the same kind of goods or similar goods, the Trademark Office shall reject the application and shall not publish it.
(2) Where two or more applicants for trademark registration apply for registration of identical or similar trademarks in respect of the same kind of goods or similar goods, the trademark which was first applied for shall be preliminarily examined and approved and published; Where the application is filed on the same day, the trademark that was first used shall be preliminatively examined and approved and published, and the application of others shall be rejected and not published.
(3) Any person may raise an objection to a trademark that has been preliminarily approved within three months from the date of announcement. Where there is no objection after the expiration of the period of public announcement, the registration shall be approved, the trademark registration certificate shall be issued, and the trademark shall be published.
4. The application for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall it be allowed to preempt the registration of trademarks that have been used by others and have certain influence by improper means.
(5) Where the application is rejected or the trademark is not published, the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant for trademark registration in writing. Where the applicant for trademark registration is dissatisfied, it may, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification, apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for a review. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a decision and notify the applicant in writing.
If the party concerned is not satisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, it may bring a suit in a people's court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification.
(6) Where an objection is raised to a trademark that has been preliminarily approved and published, the Trademark Office shall hear the facts and reasons stated by the opponent and the person opposed, and make a ruling after investigation and verification. If the party is dissatisfied, it may, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification, apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for a review. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a ruling and notify the opposing party and the opposed party in writing.
If a party is not satisfied with the ruling of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, it may bring a suit in a people's court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification. The people's court shall notify the other party to the trademark review proceedings to participate in the proceedings as a third party.
7. Where the party does not apply for review of the ruling made by the Trademark Office or does not bring a suit in the people's court against the ruling made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board within the statutory time limit, the ruling shall take effect.
If it is ruled that the objection cannot be established, the registration shall be approved, a trademark registration certificate shall be issued, and a public announcement shall be made; If the objection is established by ruling, registration shall not be approved.
Where a ruling is made that the objection cannot be established and the registration is approved, the time for the applicant to obtain the exclusive right to use the trademark shall be counted from the date on which the announcement of the first examination expires within three months.
8, trademark registration applications and trademark review applications shall be examined in a timely manner.
9. Where the trademark registration applicant or registrant finds obvious errors in the trademark application documents or registration documents, it may apply for correction. The Trademark Office shall make corrections within the scope of its functions and powers according to law and notify the parties concerned.
The correction of errors mentioned in the preceding paragraph does not involve the substantive content of the trademark application documents or registration documents.
