On the morning of June 22nd, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held a press conference. Huang Haihua, the spokesperson of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, introduced the modifications to the Trademark Law and answered questions from the journalists. 

The 68th Chairperson's Meeting of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee decided that the 23rd session of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee would be held in Beijing from June 23rd to 26th. The Chairperson's Meeting suggested that the 23rd session of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee would continue to review the draft amendment to the Trademark Law, the draft amendment to the Certified Public Accountants Law, the draft of the Prosecution Public Interest Litigation Law, the draft of the Law on Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection, and the draft of the National Firefighting and Rescue Personnel Law; review the motion submitted by the National People's Congress Financial and Economic Committee for the review of the draft amendment to the Government Procurement Law; review the motions submitted by the State Council for the review of the draft amendment to the Bidding and Tendering Law, the draft of the Financial Law, and the draft amendment to the Law of the People's Bank of China. 

Among them, regarding the second draft of the revised Trademark Law. In December 2025, the 19th meeting of the Standing Committee conducted the initial review of the revised Trademark Law draft. Based on various opinions, the draft is proposed to make the following main amendments: First, strengthen the purpose of "standardizing the registration and use of trademarks"; second, strengthen the management of trademark use in the internet environment; third, stipulate that the State Administration for Trademarks shall establish and improve a unified trademark registration application service platform to facilitate inquiries, registration and use of trademarks; fourth, make connecting provisions for the registration and use of national park logos, Olympic symbols, etc. as trademarks; fifth, intensify the crackdown on the use of registered trademarks in a misleading manner; sixth, strengthen the supervision and management of trademark agencies and practitioners; seventh, improve the relevant provisions for handling overseas trademark infringement cases, and strengthen the protection of overseas rights and interests of Chinese enterprises; eighth, further promote the resolution of the problem of emphasizing registration over use of trademarks. 

Question: In recent years, the issue of "hidden trademarks" has drawn public attention. Could you please tell us what provisions have been made in this round of trademark law amendments regarding this matter? 

Answer: A trademark is a symbol used to identify and distinguish the source of goods or services. It is also the brand identifier of an enterprise. Some companies go to great lengths in trademark registration and usage, using trademarks as a "trick tool" to mislead consumers. The term "sophisticated trademark" fully reflects the negative evaluation of consumers. This behavior seriously disrupts the trademark management order and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. To intensify the crackdown, the revision of the Trademark Law proposes the following provisions: First, strict control should be exercised over the review of trademark registration. If a trademark applicant, knowing that the mark is deceptive and likely to cause the public to mistakenly believe about the quality, characteristics or origin of the goods, still applies for trademark registration, causing adverse effects, the responsible department for trademark law enforcement shall give a warning and may impose a fine of up to 100,000 yuan. For public officials who grant trademark registration that does not meet the conditions for trademark registration and causes adverse effects, they shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the law. Second, it is necessary to open up channels for complaints and reports. Any unit or individual has the right to file a complaint or report to the responsible department for trademark law enforcement regarding the illegal act of using a registered trademark in a misleading way. Third, the legal liability for illegal acts should be increased. If a registered trademark is used in a misleading way to the public, the responsible department for trademark law enforcement shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If the illegal business volume exceeds 50,000 yuan, a fine of up to five times the illegal business volume may be imposed; if there is no illegal business volume or the illegal business volume is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of up to 250,000 yuan may be imposed. If it is not corrected within the time limit, the registered trademark shall be revoked by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. 

Question: In terms of strengthening the obligation to use trademarks and curbing trademark hoarding, what provisions have been made in this revision of the Trademark Law? 

Answer: Regarding the phenomenon of "heavy emphasis on registration and light emphasis on use" of trademarks and the phenomenon of trademark hoarding, this revision of the Trademark Law intends to make the following provisions: First, strictly define the conditions for trademark registration applications. Applications for trademark registration that are not for the purpose of use and that significantly exceed the normal needs of business operations will not be registered. If a trademark registration applicant violates the above regulations and applies for trademark registration, causing adverse effects, the responsible department for trademark law enforcement shall give a warning and may impose a fine of up to 100,000 yuan. Second, improve the requirements for trademark use. It is stipulated that if a registered trademark is not used for a consecutive period of three years without a valid reason, the State Trademark Administration Department may revoke it. At the same time, it is clearly stated that the owner of the registered trademark's right to compensation may request compensation, and if the accused infringer raises an objection based on the claim that the registered trademark owner did not use the registered trademark before three years, the court may require the registered trademark owner to provide evidence of actual use of the registered trademark before that period. Third, strengthen the supervision of trademark agency. It is stipulated that trademark agency institutions shall report the relevant information of their institutions and their trademark agency practitioners to the State Trademark Administration Department for record. If a trademark agency institution fails to legally record the information, it shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities; if a trademark agency institution knows or should know that the applicant for registration of the trademark belongs to "not for the purpose of use, and significantly exceeds the normal needs of business operations for applying for trademark registration" and still accepts the commission, it shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities. 

Source: Extracted from the press conference transcript of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on June 22, 2026, as published on the website of the National People's Congress.