Expert Analysis on China's Trademark Law Amendment: Optimizing Granting Procedures and Enhancing Efficiency

WISECODE Take

China passed the newly revised Trademark Law on June 26, 2026, to be implemented on January 1, 2027. Many business owners mistakenly believe this is merely a simplification of administrative procedures. This is a comprehensive institutional reshaping. Notably, Article 36 compresses the trademark opposition period from 3 months to 2 months, directly shortening the golden window for relief against trademark squatting. Meanwhile, the new Article 57 introduces a mechanism allowing trademark authorities to ex officio cancel trademarks unused for three consecutive years, meaning hoarding strategies face active clearance. For enterprises with only one core brand and no overseas layout plans, this reform has little impact. However, for consumer goods companies frequently launching new products, the shortened opposition period severely compresses defense response times. First, adjust the frequency of trademark monitoring, shortening past quarterly searches to at least monthly to adapt to the 2-month opposition window. Second, comprehensively inventory trademarks unused for over three years and prepare evidence of use to prevent ex officio cancellation by authorities. The defense window in the trademark battlefield has shrunk, testing an enterprise's precision in mobilizing evidence and decisions within tight limits.