China: CNIPA Issues Directions Regarding Use of Registered and Unregistered Marks

On 17 November 2025, the General Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration issued the Notice of the General Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Strengthening the Administration of Trademark Use (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”), and publicly released it on 21 November. The Notice is intended to regulate the administration of trademarks at the “use stage” by strengthening supervision and governance of illegal and irregular trademark use, guiding market entities to use trademarks in a lawful, truthful and honest manner, and thereby laying an institutional foundation for building a unified national market and promoting high-quality development. The following article provides an in-depth analysis of the main contents of the Notice.

I. Seven Categories of Illegal or Irregular Trademark Use Targeted by the “Notice”

The “Notice” focuses on six types of frequently occurring illegal or irregular trademark use in the market, as well as illegal agency conduct by trademark agencies, thereby defining regulatory priorities and directly listing the “red lines” and “grey areas” of trademark use by enterprises.

(1) Use of Unregistered Trademarks Containing Deceptive Content:

The “Notice” lists three categories of high-risk terms:

1.	Terms implying restricted channels or special identity attributes: such as “专供 (special supply)、特供 (special supply)、国 (national/state)”;2.	Terms implying key quality or ingredient attributes: such as “富硒 (selenium-rich)、有机 (organic)、零添加 (zero additive)、100%”;3.	Terms implying origin, year, or hand-crafting: such as “手打 (hand-beaten)、手工 (handmade)、1960”.
These expressions carry a “default credibility premium.” When used on unregistered trademarks, they easily constitute false advertising or misleading the public. The “Notice” emphasizes that this is a “priority among priorities.” Many enterprises mistakenly believe that “an unregistered trademark has no legal effect” or “packaging phrases are not trademark use”, but in practice, the criterion for determining “trademark use” is whether it performs a source-identification function. Whenever such expressions are prominently presented on packaging or trade dress, they are very likely to be recognized as trademark use.
Therefore, we recommend enterprises establish a compliance review mechanism at the packaging-design stage, conducting item-by-item review of quality-suggestive expressions to avoid trademark violations arising from marketing language.
(2) Deceptive Use of Registered Trademarks:
The “Notice” lists the following deceptive uses of registered trademarks:
1.	When a registered trademark, combined with product names or trade dress, results in misleading effects;2.	Unauthorized alteration of registration particulars such that the trademark no longer corresponds to truthful information;3.	Intentional modification of details to imitate a famous brand and cause public confusion.
The legality of a registered trademark does not mean all forms of its use are lawful. Trademark use must remain consistent with the registered content and the nature of the goods, reflecting “source identification” rather than “enhanced misleading effect.”For example, if the registered trademark is “雪域谷 (Snow Valley)”, but the enterprise presents it on dairy products as “雪域谷·有机手工 (Snow Valley · Organic Handmade)”, it may be deemed an alteration of registration particulars and misleading.
Thus, enterprises should establish a Registered Trademark Use Manual, requiring all departments (marketing, design, production) to use trademarks strictly in accordance with the registered form to avoid being deemed “substantial alterations.” The emphasis in the “Notice” implies that future enforcement may extend from monitoring registration conduct to monitoring use conduct, and enterprises can no longer rely on trademark certificates as a blanket exemption.
(3) Passing Off an Unregistered Mark as a Registered Trademark:
The “Notice” states that marking an unregistered trademark with “®” or claiming it is a registered trademark constitutes a typical violation. The “Notice” clearly identifies this as a priority enforcement target. Such conduct may constitute false use of a registered trademark, resulting in administrative penalties and potential joint liability for damages.
This type of violation often stems from failures in supply-chain management. The strengthened regulatory approach in the “Notice” means enterprises must enhance compliance management of packaging suppliers, such as establishing supplier admission review (including training on proper use of trademark symbols), and clarifying contractual responsibilities and remedies.
(4) Failing to Use a Registered Trademark When Required:
Regulation is particularly strict in the tobacco and new-type tobacco products sector. The “Notice” emphasizes that electronic-cigarette-related products must meet industry regulatory requirements regarding trademark labeling; otherwise the products may face recall, removal from shelves, or administrative penalties.
(5) Prominently Using the Words “驰名商标 (Well-Known Trademark)”
Chinese law clearly prohibits the use of “驰名商标 (well-known trademark)” in commercial promotion. The “Notice” reiterates that even if an enterprise has a record of well-known trademark recognition, it is still prohibited from using the phrase on advertising, packaging, exhibitions, or investment-promotion materials.
The core function of the well-known trademark system is protection, not publicity. Abuse of the label can lead to unfair competition and consumer confusion. The “Notice” indicates that future enforcement in this area will only become stricter.
(6) Irregular Use of Collective Marks and Certification Marks:
The essence of collective and certification marks is quality assurance. Using these marks in violation of their rules or without meeting relevant quality requirements has been a key focus in both administrative regulation and judicial practice. The “Notice” highlights improper use that does not comply with usage rules.
Enterprises must therefore ensure that, before using labels such as geographical-indication certification marks, they complete origin proof, testing and certification, and association review procedures, to avoid constituting false source indications.
(7) Illegal Agency Conduct by Trademark Agencies:
The “Notice” calls for strengthened supervision of trademark agencies, especially regarding bad-faith registrations and malicious non-use cancellations that disrupt trademark markets. Enterprises must choose agencies with caution to avoid being implicated in the agency’s illegal acts or facing integrity risks.
II. Regulatory Measures
The second part of the “Notice” lists relevant regulatory measures. It emphasizes improving inter-departmental coordination mechanisms, enhancing reporting and complaint channels, strengthening routine supervision and public-opinion monitoring, and establishing an efficient linkage mechanism that enables early detection and rapid response, especially in livelihood-related industries such as food and drugs, children's toys, and household appliances.
Tip offs of illegal actions will be promptly transferred to comprehensive market-supervision enforcement teams, and cross-regional cases will be coordinated by higher authorities to ensure unified enforcement standards and timely responses.
Additionally, the “Notice” stresses strengthening education and compliance guidance for operators, promoting higher professional standards in the trademark agency sector, and enhancing credit supervision and disciplinary measures against dishonesty, thereby encouraging enterprises, industry associations, and regulators to jointly build a market environment of integrity and lawful trademark use.
III. Legal Liabilities Arising from Violations of the Provisions of the “Notice”
Although the Notice itself does not directly establish independent penalty clauses, the behaviors it regulates all fall within the scope of adjustment under existing legal frameworks such as the Trademark Law, the Advertising Law, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and the Criminal Law. Therefore, once an enterprise engages in any unlawful conduct specifically targeted by the Notice during trademark use, it will often face corresponding administrative, civil, and even criminal liabilities.
(1) Administrative Liability
If an enterprise’s improper trademark use constitutes an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark as defined in Article 57 of the Trademark Law, Article 60 of the Trademark Law will apply, and the conduct may also violate Article 23 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Pursuant to Article 60 of the Trademark Law, the relevant penalties include:
1. Basic Administrative Measures
Upon confirming the establishment of an infringement, the administrative authority will first take prohibitive and remedial measures, including: ordering the immediate cessation of the infringement; confiscating and destroying infringing goods; and confiscating and destroying tools used to manufacture infringing goods or counterfeit registered trademark symbols.These measures aim to promptly cut off the continuing impact of the infringement and eliminate the consequences of such infringement.
2. Fines
Depending on the illegal business turnover, the fines are applied in a differentiated manner:
1)	Where the illegal business turnover is RMB 50,000 or more, a fine of up to five times the illegal business turnover may be imposed;2)	Where the illegal business turnover is less than RMB 50,000 yuan or is difficult to calculate, the fine shall be up to RMB 250,000, applying to small-scale infringements or cases where evidence is difficult to quantify.
3. Circumstances for Heavier Penalties
More severe penalties are expressly required by law for the following infringing behaviors:
1)	Committing two or more acts of trademark infringement within five years;2)	Infringements involving other serious circumstances.
It should be emphasized that behaviors referenced in the Notice—such as altering the style of a registered trademark, passing off an unregistered trademark as a registered one, causing confusion with another’s trademark symbols, or improperly using collective trademarks or certification trademarks—often directly fall within the scope of infringement under Article 57, thereby triggering the penalty system under Article 60 of the Trademark Law.
For passing off an unregistered trademark as a registered trademark, and for failing to use a registered trademark where such use is required, pursuant to Articles 51 or 52 of the Trademark Law, the local administrative department for industry and commerce shall order the cessation of the unlawful conduct, require rectification within a specified period, and issue a public notice. Meanwhile, the enterprise will face fines as follows: Where the illegal business turnover is greater than or equal to RMB 50,000, a fine of up to 20% of the illegal business turnover may be imposed; Where there is no illegal business turnover or the turnover is less than RMB 50,000, a fine of up to RMB 10,000 may be imposed.
For using the wording “well-known trademark” in commercial promotion, penalties will be imposed in accordance with Article 53 of the Trademark Law, under which the local administrative department for industry and commerce shall order correction and impose a fine of RMB 100,000 yuan.
(2) Civil Liability
Pursuant to Article 63 of the Trademark Law and Article 22 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, if an enterprise’s improper trademark use harms the interests of trademark owners, competitors, or consumers, it may bear civil liabilities such as cessation of infringement, compensation for damages, elimination of adverse effects, and public apology. For malicious infringement, the law permits the application of punitive damages, with the amount reaching up to five times the actual losses or unlawful gains, thus significantly increasing the cost of illegal conduct.
(3) Criminal Liability: Based on Articles 213 and 214 of the Criminal Law
Additionally, in cases involving malicious counterfeiting of registered trademarks, forging trademark symbols, and large-scale production or sale, an enterprise may constitute the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark or the crime of selling goods bearing a counterfeit registered trademark. According to law, the maximum penalty may be up to seven years of fixed-term imprisonment, along with fines.
Comment
The issuance of the “Notice” indicates that China’s trademark regulatory system is shifting from supervision primarily focused on the registration stage to supervision throughout the entire use cycle. The cost of illegal or irregular trademark use will rise significantly.For enterprises, trademarks are no longer symbols that can be “registered and left alone”, but legal elements embedded across product design, packaging, marketing, supply chain, and brand strategy. Only by establishing a comprehensive trademark-use compliance system and strengthening inter-departmental coordination and process review can enterprises effectively mitigate risks under intensified regulation, maintain brand reputation, and enhance core competitiveness.