China Issues Measures for Rapid Examination of Trademark Applications Involving National Interest Issues
Published 22 July 2025
Xia Yu
On 18 July 2025, China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) issued the Announcement No. 634 which announced that the Measures for Rapid Examination of Trademark Applications (“Measures”) have been implemented since the date of publication to replace the Measures for Rapid Examination of Trademark Applications (for Trial Implementation) (“Trial Measures”) formulated by CNIPA on 14 January 2022. The Measures consist of eleven articles. Article 10 of the Trial Measures, which excluded the accelerated examination of trademark applications involving adverse effects, has been deleted. Major revisions are made to Articles 2, 3, and 5 of the Trial Measures, regarding the scope of examination, applicable conditions, and examination procedures.
The Measures expand the scope of application of Article 2 on rapid examination. The Trial Measures stipulate four situations in which rapid examination can be applied, namely, names involving major national or provincial engineering projects, major events and exhibitions; names directly related to responding to public emergencies; names associated with serving the needs of high-quality economic and social development; and names that have great practical significance for safeguarding national interests, social public interests or major regional development strategies. On this basis, the Measures expand the scope of application in three aspects. Firstly, the Measures add new scopes of application for strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, deep-sea technology, and future industries including biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G. These industries represent the key directions of China’s economic transformation and upgrading. This revision enables the core brands of relevant enterprises to obtain legal protection more quickly, accelerating the transformation of relevant technological achievements and market layout. Secondly, the Measures add new scopes of application for the modern industrial system and new quality productivity industrial chain of provincial governments. Under the premise that the trademarks have been used, the revision gives provincial governments greater participation in brand governance, enabling local industries to strengthen brand protection through the rapid examination mechanism. Thirdly, the Measures add new scopes of application for important cultural heritage logos. This revision responds to the urgent need to develop the commercial value of traditional culture and provides a fast track for trademark confirmation in the fields of museum cultural creation, intangible cultural heritage, time-honored brands, etc.
The Measures relax the applicable conditions for the trademark applications requesting rapid examination in Article 3. The six applicable conditions stipulated in the Trial Measures include: 1) The mark of the trademark applied is limited to words. 2) The designated goods or services are closely related to the circumstances listed in Article 2 and are standard names listed in the Classification of Similar Goods and Services. 3) The consent of all applicants is required. 4) Electronic application is adopted. 5) No priority claim is made. 6) The application is not a collective trademark or certification mark. The Measures only revise the first two applicable conditions. Firstly, the Measures expand the constituent elements of the mark in the first item from only words to words, graphics, letters, numbers, or their combination. This revision solves the institutional limitation that graphic trademarks and combination trademarks cannot enjoy rapid examination and responds to the actual needs of diversified trademark forms in the digital economy era. Meanwhile, the Measures expand the scope of permitted goods/service names from standard names listed in the Classification of Similar Goods and Services to those publicly accepted by the CNIPA. This revision is more in line with the characteristics of the continuous emergence of new goods/service names in new formats and new technologies.
The Measures further standardize the procedures for rapid examination. The Trial Measures stipulate that after the acceptance of the application for rapid examination, if it meets the requirements, it will be granted a rapid examination and then conclude a decision regarding the examination; otherwise, it will be examined according to the general procedures. Article 5 of the Measures adds a new notification obligation for non-acceptance. When the application does not meet the conditions, the CNIPA shall notify the applicant in writing within 5 working days. This revision effectively solves the problem of applicants having to wait for a long time in vain.
In conclusion, both the Trial Measures and the Measures are to improve the examination efficiency of trademark applications involving national interests, social public interests, or major regional development strategies. On this basis, the Measures further improve the examination model and procedures of the rapid examination system.
The Measures expand the scope of application of Article 2 on rapid examination. The Trial Measures stipulate four situations in which rapid examination can be applied, namely, names involving major national or provincial engineering projects, major events and exhibitions; names directly related to responding to public emergencies; names associated with serving the needs of high-quality economic and social development; and names that have great practical significance for safeguarding national interests, social public interests or major regional development strategies. On this basis, the Measures expand the scope of application in three aspects. Firstly, the Measures add new scopes of application for strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, deep-sea technology, and future industries including biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G. These industries represent the key directions of China’s economic transformation and upgrading. This revision enables the core brands of relevant enterprises to obtain legal protection more quickly, accelerating the transformation of relevant technological achievements and market layout. Secondly, the Measures add new scopes of application for the modern industrial system and new quality productivity industrial chain of provincial governments. Under the premise that the trademarks have been used, the revision gives provincial governments greater participation in brand governance, enabling local industries to strengthen brand protection through the rapid examination mechanism. Thirdly, the Measures add new scopes of application for important cultural heritage logos. This revision responds to the urgent need to develop the commercial value of traditional culture and provides a fast track for trademark confirmation in the fields of museum cultural creation, intangible cultural heritage, time-honored brands, etc.
The Measures relax the applicable conditions for the trademark applications requesting rapid examination in Article 3. The six applicable conditions stipulated in the Trial Measures include: 1) The mark of the trademark applied is limited to words. 2) The designated goods or services are closely related to the circumstances listed in Article 2 and are standard names listed in the Classification of Similar Goods and Services. 3) The consent of all applicants is required. 4) Electronic application is adopted. 5) No priority claim is made. 6) The application is not a collective trademark or certification mark. The Measures only revise the first two applicable conditions. Firstly, the Measures expand the constituent elements of the mark in the first item from only words to words, graphics, letters, numbers, or their combination. This revision solves the institutional limitation that graphic trademarks and combination trademarks cannot enjoy rapid examination and responds to the actual needs of diversified trademark forms in the digital economy era. Meanwhile, the Measures expand the scope of permitted goods/service names from standard names listed in the Classification of Similar Goods and Services to those publicly accepted by the CNIPA. This revision is more in line with the characteristics of the continuous emergence of new goods/service names in new formats and new technologies.
The Measures further standardize the procedures for rapid examination. The Trial Measures stipulate that after the acceptance of the application for rapid examination, if it meets the requirements, it will be granted a rapid examination and then conclude a decision regarding the examination; otherwise, it will be examined according to the general procedures. Article 5 of the Measures adds a new notification obligation for non-acceptance. When the application does not meet the conditions, the CNIPA shall notify the applicant in writing within 5 working days. This revision effectively solves the problem of applicants having to wait for a long time in vain.
In conclusion, both the Trial Measures and the Measures are to improve the examination efficiency of trademark applications involving national interests, social public interests, or major regional development strategies. On this basis, the Measures further improve the examination model and procedures of the rapid examination system.