IP Salon: Returning Trademark Registration to Its Institutional Origin — Interpretation of Highlights in the Trademark Law Revision

WISECODE Take

Many business owners view trademark registration as military land-grabbing, assuming first-come, first-served, while ignoring the strategic reality that an undefended empty city will eventually fall. From a military strategy perspective, mainland China's newly revised Trademark Law, approved on June 26, 2026, and set to take effect on January 1, 2027, upgrades the defense from passive resistance to active sweep. Under the revised Article 19, which merges non-use intent and improper means into a single review standard, the common tactic of hoarding trademarks without actual business operations will be eliminated during inspection. For Taiwanese businesses, the warning is clear: Article 54 now imposes fines of up to 100,000 RMB for malicious applications, meaning the scout tactic of registering just to test the waters may now trigger heavy financial retaliation. To adapt to this reshaped battlefield, I suggest two defensive strategies. First, clean up your trademark inventory and discard zombie trademarks to avoid becoming a target; second, ensure all new applications are backed by solid business use plans for review. Trademark value lies in actual occupation, not dotted lines on a map. We advise consulting professional assessments before layout, and you can leverage IPCLASS's Trademark Monitoring service to build the strongest radar defense for your brand territory.