Introduction
China's Trademark Law, formally known as the, has undergone
several amendments since its enactment in 1982, with the most
recent significant revision in 2019. This law governs the
registration, protection, and enforcement of trademarks in one of
the world's largest markets, where over 7 million trademark
applications were filed in 2023 alone, according to the China
National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). A key
feature of the China's Trademark Law, formally known as the law
People's Republic of China, is its "first-to-file"
principle, which prioritizes the first applicant for registration,
often leading to issues like bad-faith registrations or
"trademark squatting." To address such abuses, Article 15
plays a crucial role by prohibiting unauthorized registrations
based on specific relationships between the applicant and the prior
trademark owner.
