In June 2023, the Trade Mark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration published on its official website an article entitled "Interpretation of Regulations on the Scenarios for the Suspension of Review Cases". The article listed seven scenarios where review cases should be suspended and three additional scenarios where review cases may be suspended.
Seven scenarios where review cases should be suspended
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Scenarios for suspension |
Applicable review cases |
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Three scenarios where review cases may be suspended
- If the cited mark involved in a review of refusal of an application is subject to an invalidation petition, and the actions of the owner of the cited mark have been determined in other cases to constitute bad faith as stipulated in Article 4, Article 19 (4) and Article 44 (1) of the China Trade Mark Law, an examiner may voluntarily suspend the review of refusal based on discretion;
- If it is necessary to wait for the decision/judgement of an ongoing same or relevant case, an examiner may voluntarily suspend a review case based on discretion; or
- Other scenarios where review cases may be suspended.
Although there has been no formal official announcement, it is understood that the Regulations may have recently been implemented. This development indicates that the CNIPA is listening to, and is responsive to, the concerns of applicants and other stakeholders. It is hoped that these developments will be widely implemented to address and effectively reduce the challenges caused by the previous inability to suspend on-going cases in circumstances that merited some delay and lessen the burden on all parties involved in review and appeal proceedings before the CNIPA.
