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On July 7, 2025, the CNIPA released and officially implemented the revised Measures on Expedited Examination of Trademark Registration Applications ("the Measures" for short). The Measures have set forth detailed provisions on the circumstances under which the expedited examination is requested, the conditions that should be met, the materials or documents that are required to be submitted, the time limits for the expedited examination, and the circumstances under which the expedited examination may be terminated.
The CNIPA released the trial version of the Measures on January 14, 2022. The revised version has increased the four circumstances eligible for expedited examination specified in the trial version to the following five circumstances:
1. Relating to strategic emerging industries for national development such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, deep-sea technology, and such future industries as bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G, for which the exclusive trademark rights are urgently required;
2. Relating to marks of significant national or provincial projects, major undertakings, major scientific and technological infrastructure, major sports events, major exhibitions and expos, and important cultural heritage marks, for which trademark protection is urgently needed.
3. Relating to modern industrial systems promoted by provincial governments and industrial chain layout centered around the development of new quality productivity, in respect of which trademarks have already been used;
4. Involving undertakings related to responding to sudden public events such as particularly major natural disasters, particularly major accidents and catastrophes, particularly major public health incidents, and particularly major social security incidents, for which the requests are filed during the sudden public events;
5. Relating to those that are indeed necessary to implement the "Outline for the Construction of a Strong Intellectual Property Country" in order to serve the high-quality development of the economy and society, or those that are of major practical significance for safeguarding the national interests, public social interests, or major regional development strategies.
In addition, Article 3 of the revised Measures changes the condition for requesting expedited examination of trademark registration applications from trademarks "consisting solely of words" into trademarks of "words, graphics, letters, numbers, and the combination thereof"; and modifies the condition "the designated goods or services thereof are closely related to the circumstances listed in Article 2 and are standard names listed in the Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks" to "the designated goods or services are closely related to the circumstances listed in Article 2, and are acceptable names for goods and services that the CNIPA has published".
According to the current regulations, the CNIPA will finalize the examination of trademark registration applications approved for expedited examination within 20 working days, which will significantly shorten the examination time and accelerate brand protection.
Source: the China National Intellectual Property Administration
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