PRC Authority to Regulate Outflanking Chinese Trademark Applications Seeking Registration of Taiwanese GI Marks.

As of the end of September 2009, Taiwanese businesses hold a total of 62,925 registered Chinese trademarks.  Owed to the reputation of the well known Taiwanese agricultural products concerned, Chinese registrations of the relevant Taiwanese geographical indication marks (GI mark) have been rampantly outflanked by PRC nationals.  According to the spokesman of the PRC’s Taiwan Affairs Office, the PRC will strengthen the protection of Taiwanese marks to protect the legal rights and interests of the relevant Taiwanese businesses.  Many Taiwanese (Chinese character) marks are recognized as well-known trademarks in the PRC, including旺旺, 捷安特, 統一, 哥弟, BENQ, 名典, 自然美, and 宏碁. 

According to the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, the relevant public information released by the PRC authority shows so far about 60 GI marks used by well known Taiwanese agricultural products have been registered by PRC nationals.  In view of the increasing number of disputes over the outflanked registrations of Taiwanese GI marks, the PRC State Administration for Industry & Commerce has issued two responsive documents since 2006:  the notice on prevention, investigation and punishment of the counterfeiting of Taiwanese fruits; and the opinion letter on the implementation of strengthened protection of Taiwanese agricultural product marks to promote cross-strait agricultural cooperation.  Both documents clearly decree that in consideration of protecting the legal rights and interests of the Taiwanese businesses in the PRC, trademark applications seeking registration of well-known marks used by Taiwanese agricultural products shall be effectively prevented if they are determined as outflanking applications in the process of trademark application examination, opposition against approval of registration, or dispute resolution. (2009.10)
/EMA