China Constantly Improves Examination Quality and Efficiency of Madrid Trademark

Since the start of the year, China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has been responsible in coordinating and promoting epidemic prevention and control and business work, constantly advancing the reform of facilitating trademark registration, comprehensively improving examination quality and efficiency of Madrid international trademark registration and effectively protecting the legitimate rights of applicants of both home and abroad.

In a bid to support the resumption of work and production, CNIPA put emphasis on guiding domestic applicants to handle business online and launched successively follow-up online business including the renewal of Madrid international trademark registration and designation of attorney for them, which provides more efficient service for domestic applicants to "go abroad" through the Madrid System. Also, CNIPA published the Instructions on Online Application of Madrid International Trademark Registration during the Epidemic, and scanned domestic applicants' paper-based applications and send them electronically to the International Bureau of WIPO, which has maximized the protection of the rights of domestic applicants from the epidemic. In the past six months, CNIPA received a total number of 3,875 applications for international trademark registration under the Madrid System, up 36%, with an online application rate of 93.5%, and fulfilled the examination of 4,009 international trademark registrations, with an average examination pendency of around two months.

Trademark Examination Department of CNIPA (TED) positively overcame difficulties caused by the epidemic outbreak, scientifically forecasted the filling volume, evaluated the examination competence and deployed examination and signature personnel, attached importance to the exemplary role of leaders, improving the work intensity and efficiency. In the first half, the target of reducing examination pendency for territorial extension has been consistent with that in China, with the classes of substantive examination reaching 27,447 and the follow-up business 28,568.

Meanwhile, TED has been strengthening quality management and personnel training, and intensified quality management and control, effectively tackling problems of examination quality, and comprehensively reinforced the capability building of examiners through massed learning, online answer and opinion communication. Through the signing of documents, ledger management, quality evaluation report and other measures, TED strictly supervised and inspected the quality of products, and reduced the rate of re-examination and return. Otherwise, to compile and publish quarterly quality evaluation review reports, make statistical comparisons of the review quality data, and put forward review guidance for typical cases have also improved the quality of review.

CNIPA will promote the quality and efficiency of the review of international registration as well as the Madrid international trademark registration system continuously to help Chinese companies strengthen their IPR protection overseas.

Source: China IP News