On December 30, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Interpretation of the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Trademark Use 《关于加强商标使用管理的通知》解读) follows up on the Notice from the General Office of the CNIPA on Strengthening the Management of Trademark Use.  The Interpretation provides examples of six types of illegal and irregular trademark use.

A translation follows. The original is available here (Chinese only).

Recently, the Office of the CNIPA printed and distributed the Notice on Strengthening the Administration of Trademark Use (hereinafter referred to as the Notice). The relevant contents of the Notice are explained as follows.

Strengthening the management of trademark use and protecting the interests of consumers is an important part of the construction of a powerful intellectual property country. It is also an important measure to accurately implement the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Law) and comprehensively improve the level of trademark management. The Notice focuses on tackling seven types of illegal trademark use, purifying the trademark use environment, preventing trademark infringement, and promoting various subjects to standardize the use of trademarks.

1、 Use of unregistered trademarks with fraud and other prohibitions

First, the use of unregistered trademarks containing “exclusive”, “special”, “top quality”, “national” and other contents has led to the public’s misunderstanding of the supply channel or quality of goods. For example, use on mineral water products“ ”Trademark, used on liquor products“ ”“ ”“ ”Trademark, used on “restaurant” services“ ”Trademark, etc.

Second, the use of unregistered trademarks containing “selenium rich”, “organic”, “zero addition”, “100%” and other contents, and the actual properties of the marked goods are inconsistent with the content, leading to the public’s misidentification of the main raw materials, ingredients and other characteristics of the goods. For example, use on Apple products “ ” Trademark, used on fresh vegetable products “ ” Trademark, used on soy sauce products “ ” Trademark, used on bread products “ ” Trademark, and the actual attributes of the goods are inconsistent with the meaning of the words or graphics in the trademark.

Third, the use of unregistered trademarks containing place names, years or “manual” and “hand printed” has led to the public’s misidentification of the origin, production time, production technology and other characteristics of the goods. For example, use on tile goods “ ” Trademark, but the tile is not from Rome, Italy; use on black tea products“ ”Trademark, but the black tea was not produced in 1837, or its provider was not created in 1837, and the “The FINEST TEAS OF THE WORLD” claimed in the trademark, which means “the best tea in the world” in Chinese, is groundless; use in liquor products “ ” Trademark, but the liquor is not brewed by hand; use on iron pot goods “ ” Trademark, but the iron pot is not made by hand; use on dry noodles “ ” Trademark, but the noodles are not hand rolled.

The above trademark registration application was rejected in accordance with the provisions of Item 7, Paragraph 1, Article 10 of the Trademark Law, and the party using the above trademark was subject to administrative punishment by the trademark enforcement department of the place where the case occurred in accordance with Item 7, Paragraph 1, Article 10 and Article 52 of the Trademark Law.

2、 Deceptive use of registered trademarks

The Notice proposes to focus on regulating two types of illegal acts, including fraudulent use of registered trademarks and violation of Article 49 of the Trademark Law.

First, the use of registered trademarks in combination with commodity names, advertising terms, commodity packaging and decoration has led to the public’s misunderstanding of commodity quality, origin, technology and other characteristics. For example, registering on egg products “ ” Trademark, but actually use “ ”, causing the public to mistakenly think it is a free range egg; Register on noodle products“ ” Trademark, and actually use “ ” leading the public to mistake it for Longkou geographical indication noodles. The above registered trademarks have been declared invalid by the CNIPA.

The second is the act of unilaterally altering registered information, which leads to the public’s misunderstanding of the quality of goods and other characteristics, or unilaterally altering registered information in order to piggyback on others’ trademarks. For example, a party registered on the honey commodity “ ” Trademark, but the words such as green ecological health are added to the trademark and actually used “ ” trademark, which causes the public to misunderstand the quality of goods. The party was subject to administrative punishment by the local trademark enforcement department in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, paragraph 1, item 7, and Article 52 of the Trademark Law. Similarly, a party registered on the lubricant commodity “ ” Trademark, but unilaterally changed it to “ ” Trademark use, to piggyback on BP “ ” The party was ordered by the local law enforcement department to correct the behavior of unilaterally altering  the registered trademark within 7 days according to the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 49 of the Trademark Law.

3、 Use of counterfeit registered trademark

The Notice proposes to focus on regulating the illegal acts of using unregistered trademarks as registered trademarks and harming consumers’ interests in violation of Article 52 of the Trademark Law.

For example, a party used the unregistered trademark  on its “Beauty Skin Cream” products and marked the registered trademark “®” in the upper right corner, thus misrepresenting the registered trademark ” “.  Furthermore, its application for the trademark  on cosmetics and other goods was rejected on the grounds that the trademark was deceptive, yet it continued to use it. This party was administratively punished by the local law enforcement department in accordance with Article 52 of the Trademark Law, among other provisions.

4、 Should use but not use registered trademark

The Notice proposes to focus on regulating illegal acts that violate Article 6 of the Trademark Law by using registered trademarks but not using them.

This is primarily based on the provisions of the “Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China” and its implementing regulations. Special attention is paid to goods such as cigarettes, cigars, packaged tobacco, and new tobacco products like e-cigarettes that must use registered trademarks. For example, a party registered only two separate trademarks, “WX” and “YZ,” for cigarettes, but combined them on the cigarettes they produced and sold, actually using the “WXYZ” trademark, only adding the registration mark “®” to the upper right corner of the “Z.” This constituted using the unregistered “WXYZ” trademark as a registered trademark, and the local trademark enforcement department imposed administrative penalties in accordance with Articles 6 and 52 of the Trademark Law.

5、 Highlight the use of “well-known trademark” in commercial activities

The notice proposes to focus on regulating illegal acts that violate Article 14, Paragraph 5 of the Trademark Law by using the term “well-known trademark” in publicity.

The special protection system for well-known trademarks established by international treaties such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property only requires determining whether a trademark is a well-known trademark and thus granting it special protection when disputes arise in the application, registration, or use of the trademark. However, some enterprises mistakenly treat well-known trademarks as an honorary title, taking advertising effect as the direct and primary purpose of applying for well-known trademark recognition, thus deviating from the original intention of the well-known trademark system. To clarify the well-known trademark system and return it to its legislative intent, the Trademark Law was amended for the third time in 2013, adding a clause restricting the use of well-known trademarks: “Producers and operators shall not use the words ‘well-known trademark’ on goods, packaging, or containers, or in advertising, exhibitions, or other commercial activities.”

Since the Trademark Law prohibited the use of the term “well-known trademark” in advertising, the public’s understanding of well-known trademarks has become more accurate, and the application of the system has become more reasonable. However, the practice of prominently using the term “well-known trademark” in advertising still occurs from time to time in commercial activities. The “Notice” focuses on the functions of intellectual property management departments, requiring them to pay close attention to the use of the term “well-known trademark” with a recognition record in advertising. For example, a party, after its trademark has been recognized by the competent authority, prominently used the term “China Well-known Trademark” on its website and social media to promote or sell its goods, and was administratively punished by the local trademark enforcement department in accordance with Articles 14(5) and 53 of the Trademark Law.

6、 Illegal use of collective trademarks and certification trademarks

The “Notice” proposes to focus on regulating illegal acts of using collective trademarks and certification trademarks that violate the Trademark Law, the Implementing Regulations of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Implementing Regulations of the Trademark Law), the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Collective Trademarks and Certification Trademarks, and other relevant regulations.

According to the Trademark Law, its Implementing Regulations, and the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Collective Trademarks and Certification Trademarks, formulating usage management rules in accordance with the law is a prerequisite for the registration of collective trademarks and certification trademarks. The usage management rules announced by the CNIPA, as matters related to the registration of collective trademarks and certification trademarks, are binding on the registrant, the collective members of the collective trademark, and the users of the certification trademark. The usage management rules should include the purpose, procedures, rights, and obligations of using the collective trademark or certification trademark; the quality of the goods using the collective trademark or the origin, raw materials, manufacturing method, quality, or other specific qualities of the goods certified by the certification trademark; the responsibilities that the collective members of the collective trademark or the users of the certification trademark should bear for violating its usage management rules; and the registrant’s inspection and supervision system for the goods using the collective trademark or certification trademark.

Registrants, members of a collective trademark group, and users of certification marks are all liable for violating relevant usage management rules. For example, if a party is the registrant of the certification mark “ ”, and is administratively penalized for producing and selling goji berries bearing the certification mark that do not meet the quality requirements stipulated in the usage management rules, the party will be administratively interviewed by the local trademark enforcement department and required to strictly fulfill its management responsibilities as a registrant in accordance with the relevant provisions of the “Regulations on the Registration and Management of Collective Marks and Certification Marks”. As another example, if a party is the registrant of the certification mark “ ”, and is used on tea products outside the production area stipulated in the usage management rules, the party will be ordered by the local trademark enforcement department to rectify the situation within a specified period and will be required to effectively manage or control the use of the certification mark “ ”.

7、 Illegal agency of trademark agency

The notice proposes to focus on regulating illegal activities such as trademark agencies and personnel acting as agents for malicious trademark registration applications and malicious “cancellation for non-use” in violation of Article 19 of the Trademark Law.

Trademark agencies and their employees, as professional organizations and personnel in the trademark service industry, should possess corresponding professional ethics and qualities, and bear higher obligations of care and review in the course of their trademark agency work, in order to prevent and avoid illegal and irregular use of trademarks. For example, if a party knowingly or should have known that their client is maliciously applying for trademark registrations without the intention of use, yet still accepts the commission to represent them in the trademark registration application, and even if some of the trademarks represented are clearly deceptive and have a negative impact, the party will be severely punished by the local trademark enforcement department in accordance with Article 19, Paragraph 3, and Article 68 of the Trademark Law and Article 13 of the “Several Provisions on Regulating Trademark Application and Registration Behavior.”

Meanwhile, the “Notice” put forward six specific work measures, including improving the working mechanism, carrying out key investigations, promptly handling clues, strengthening compliance guidance, enhancing comprehensive governance, and creating a favorable atmosphere. These measures aim to further strengthen central-local coordination, achieve inter-departmental collaboration, ensure the effective implementation of various tasks, promote the construction of a sound order for the legal and compliant use of trademarks, and effectively safeguard the interests of the people.