The government will push to accelerate the process of amending the Trademark Law in order to help companies and individuals cut down on the time and paperwork required to obtain a trademark.

During a meeting in Changchun, Jilin Province on July 22, a senior government official said the amendment process will be stepped up to improve processing of trademark applications.

The pending amendment will be turned over to the State Council for review as soon as possible, said Zhou Bohua, director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), at the meeting on promoting the awareness and protection of trademarks.

Some content of the existing law cannot satisfy the development needs of the country's market-oriented economy, said Zhou.

The law, initially promulgated in August 1982, has been amended twice.

SAIC first discussed a third amendment in 2003.

The amendment will simplify procedures for filing trademark applications and expand the applications channels to accept electronic applications, SAIC announced at the meeting.

Under the current law, it could take two to three years for applicants to obtain a trademark, while the average lifespan of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the country is just several years, Guo Xiushen of the Expert Committee of the China Trademark Association told the Global Times.

The law stipulates a trademark application must pass through several institutions, which often delay the entire process, he said. No details were given about the timeline.

The pending amendment is also expected to strengthen protection of the exclusive right to use a trademark and will include details on geographic relevancy, said SAIC.

                                                                                Source: Alibaba News Channel