For many years, the China Trademark Office (CTMO) has not
accepted "retail" services in Class 35, on the basis that
the protection of services implies providing a service for others,
rather than the sale of a brand owner's own goods.
In recent years, there has been a degree of relaxation of this
practice – especially when retail services in Class 35 are
filed through the International System or when such services relate
to medical, pharmaceutical or veterinary products.
The Chinese courts are recognising that the exclusion of retail
services from trade mark registration is commercially difficult and
some decisions are determining confusion, although the position
remains unpredictable. In Shenzhen Milan Station
Trading Co v Milan Station (Hong Kong) Holdings
Limited: the court held that "retail
services" fell within the scope of "sales
promotions (for others)", and similar reasoning was used
to determine that retail supermarket services were similar to
"sales
