Like most countries, China has a use requirement for trademarks: to remain valid, a trademark must be used in commerce at least once every three years. But as we wrote in China Trademarks: When (and How) to Prove Use of a Mark in Commerce:
Unlike the United States, China does not have an affirmative requirement to prove that a trademark is being used in commerce. You do not have to prove use for a trademark application to proceed to registration, and once a trademark is registered you do not have to prove you are still using it to maintain or renew the registration.
China does require proof of use in certain circumstances. The most well-known circumstance is when a trademark is challenged for non-use; at that point a trademark owner has two months to provide evidence of use in the three years prior to the non-use cancellation being filed. (You can’t start using the mark after receiving the notice.) Another circumstance is when a trademark owner is suing a third party for trademark infringement and trying to prove damages. If you can’t show that you have been using the trademark yourself, it’s difficult to convince a Chinese court that you lost money due to another party’s infringement.
In my previous post, I outlined the general sorts of documents that could be used as evidence of trademark use. The Chinese Trademark Office (CTMO) has recently released a document that categorizes acceptable and unacceptable forms of evidence of trademark use in China, helpfully titled Explanations on Submission of Evidence of Trademark Use (提供商标使用证据的相关说明).
Acceptable trademark use on goods includes:
1. On goods or their packaging/labeling, or including the mark on product tags, manuals, brochures, or price lists.
2. In documents relating to the sale of goods, such as contracts, invoices, bills, receipts, import/export documents, inspection/quarantine certificates, and customs clearance documents.
3. On the radio or television, in widely distributed print publications, or in other media.
4. On billboards, mail, or other forms of advertisements.
5. At exhibitions or trade fairs, including printed matter or other material.
Acceptable trademark use on services includes:
1. On the premises where services are offered, including on service brochures, signboards, decorations, staff attire, posters, menus, price lists, coupons, office stationery, letterheads, and other articles related to the services.
2. On documents associated with the services, e.g., invoices, remittance advice, service agreements, repair and maintenance certificates.
3. On the radio or television, in widely distributed print publications, or in other media.
4. On billboards, mail, or other forms of advertisements.
5. At exhibitions or trade fairs, including printed matter or other material.
The above is not an exhaustive list, but for good measure the Explanations note that the following do not constitute acceptable trademark use:
1. Documents relating to a trademark’s registration, including any statements by the trademark owner about its exclusive rights to such mark.
2. Use in private commerce (i.e., not openly).
3. Use on complimentary items.
4. Assignment or licensing of the trademark without actual use by the licensee.
5. De minimis use of the trademark merely for the purpose of maintaining the registration of the trademark.
The last item is perhaps the most controversial and subjective, because trademark squatters have been known to make a single Taobao sale of an item to themselves (or to a relative) so they have evidence of use in China. In the past, such use, which to most rational people would be considered both de minimis and in bad faith, has sometimes been deemed acceptable by the CTMO. That being said, such lax rules have also redounded to the benefit of legitimate trademark owners who have not been scrupulous about keeping records and find themselves in need of last-minute evidence of use. But the trend now is for the CTMO to be stricter about de minimis use, and not consider it sufficient proof to maintain trademark rights.
All of the above evidence must come from China, which almost always means the evidence must be in Chinese and be capable of authentication by the issuing entity. This makes sense: to prove use in China, you need evidence from China. A purchase order from a US company (even if it includes the trademark) is unacceptable. An invoice from a Chinese company that specifies the goods but does not mention the trademark is similarly unacceptable.
Most companies selling products in China have no problem providing the necessary evidence. It’s the companies that only manufacture in China that have problems, because they often have no acceptable documentation from China that includes the trademark. Don’t be one of those companies. Think about how you can best gather up your evidence and do so. Now.