In some cases, the China Intellectual Property Administration
("CNIPA") cites an invalid mark to reject a trademark
application according to Article 50 of China Trademark Law. This
paper will briefly introduce the applicable situations of Article
50 of China Trademark Law.
According to Article 50 of the Trademark
Law, "if a registered trademark is cancelled, declared invalid
or subject to no renewal upon expiration of the period of validity,
the Trademark Office shall not approve any application for the
registration of a trademark that is identical with or similar to
the said trademark within one year as of the day of the
invalidation or cancellation.
In principle, if the previously
registered trademark has been cancelled, declared invalid or not
renewed upon expiration, it should not bar the registration of
subsequent trademarks. However, because the goodwill of the
previously registered trademark that have been invalidated may
still circulate in the
