The draft amendment to the Trade Mark Law, which has been approved by the State Council, is expected to take effect soon.
The new law allows individuals to register trade marks to protect their personal interests.
When the law is implemented, the number of trade marks in China will surge markedly, according to the Trade Mark Bureau under the State Administration of Industry and Commerce as saying.
When the Trade Mark Law was promulgated in 1982, there were only 30,000 trade marks registered in China. Currently, the number stands at over one million.
The original law adopted the rule of "registration first". The draft amendment changes the rule into "application first", which is expected to curb rushed registrations.
(Xinhua 11/30/2000)
