In many countries and regions, if a mark is rejected by the
Trademark Office with citing prior similar mark, a very common
practice is that the applicant could seek for the letter of consent from the owner of cited mark
to overcome such rejection. For example, in Hong Kong, the
examination rule is very flexible, and as long as the two marks are
not identical, the letter of consent will be accepted. The China
National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA")
used to have a more lenient approach towards accepting letters of
consent in their examination process. However, their attitude
has changed recently.
Attitude for the letter of consent
There are no formal regulations or notices issued by the CNIPA
to clarify such change. However, as of the end of 2021, a more
stringent examination is carried out on the letter of consent, and
it will only be accepted by CNIPA if the marks have significant
differences. If you are familiar with CNIPA's practice, then
you
