The Scope of Trademark Protection in China

Under the valid Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (2019 Revision), its Implementing Regulations and official judicial guidelines, trademark protection draws a layered boundary distinguishing standard registered trademarks and well-known trademarks respectively.

Article 56 of the Trademark Law sets the baseline rule: exclusive trademark rights are initially confined to the registered mark itself and approved goods or services listed upon registration, forming the core protective scope for ordinary registrations.

Yet statutory prohibitive rights stretch beyond such literal limits. Per Article 57, right holders may block unapproved use of identical or confusingly similar marks not only on identical products but also on similar goods or services, where overlapping sales channels, consumer groups and functional attributes trigger public source confusion, as further specified in the CNIPA’s Official Trademark Infringement Judgment Criteria.

Well-known trademarks receive expanded cross-class protection under Article 13. Registered well-known marks are shielded against copycat or imitative branding even on dissimilar goods if such use misleads consumers and impairs the owner’s reputational interests; unregistered well-known marks gain anti-confusion protection across identical or similar commodities nationwide.

Meanwhile, protection bears statutory carve-outs. The Implementing Regulations permits fair descriptive use of generic names, functional features or geographical terms embedded within registered trademarks, preventing overbroad monopolization of commonplace descriptive wording and balancing trademark exclusivity against fair market competition.