The China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA") recently drafted the Judgment Standards for General Trademark Violations (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to solicit public comments by October 1, 2021.

The Draft for Comment specifies that any of the ten acts violating trademark administration orders, such as "failing to use registered trademark where it must be used, in violation of Article 6 of the Trademark Law", will constitute a general trademark violation as defined in the standards. The Draft for Comment further sets forth provisions regarding some specific contents, such as the act of registering and using a trademark without approval where such trademark must be registered, the judgment standards for prohibited use, the identification of the act of using unregistered trademark that is identical or similar with country name of China or other items. Among others, regarding the circumstances where there is anything fraudulent, the Draft for Comment makes clear that if an unregistered trademark that is being used involves any of the three circumstances, such as "easily misleading the public about the characteristics of a product or service such as main material, function, usage, weight and quantity", such act shall constitute a fraud under Item 7 Paragraph 1 Article 10 of the Trademark Law.

(Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration)