The State Administration of Market Supervision recently issued the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Trademark Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) to promote the high-quality development of China's trademark agency industry. 

Trademark agency system is an important part of trademark system. Over the years, it has played an important role in promoting the dissemination of know-hows about trademark legal affairs, improving the specialization and convenience of trademark registration, application and management, and helping Chinese enterprises to make strategies for overseas trademarks and foreign enterprises to handle trademark business in China. The former State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued the Measures for the Administration of Trademark Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Measures). Provisions are made on the concepts related to trademark agency, the working conditions and main obligations of trademark agencies and agents, and the illegal acts and treatment of trademark agency. After China revised the Trademark Law and the Implementing Regulations of the Trademark Law in 2013 and 2014 respectively, the main contents of the Measures were absorbed by revised Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations, so the Measures were abolished in 2016. 

With engaging of new technologies, trademark agencies mainly engaged in online business have emerged, among which some agencies improperly using technical means or traffic advantages to plunder the market, which brings great challenges to industry supervision and governance. The provisions concerning trademark agency in the Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations have not been revised for many years, while the lack of pertinence and operability for the endless new trademark agency violations makes it impossible to provide a fully clear legal basis and effective supervision means for industry supervision. It is hence necessary to implement the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations in detail by formulating departmental rules, especially the latest revision of the Trademark Law in 2019. 

On such background, combined with the work practice of trademark agency industry supervision, the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Trademark Agency (Draft) was drafted, and opinions were widely solicited in various ways. After fully absorbing the useful opinions of all parties, the draft was submitted to the State Administration of Market Supervision for legal review, which was announced a few days ago after being reviewed and approved by the executive meeting of the State Administration of Market Supervision. 

The promulgation and implementation of the Regulations aim to provide a full and clear legal basis for strengthening the governance, supervision and management of trademark agency industry. It is of great practical significance to guide trademark agencies to operate according to laws and regulations, standardize trademark agency behavior, improve trademark agency service quality, maintain trademark agency market order, protect clients' legitimate rights and interests and social public interests, and promote the healthy development of trademark agency industry. 

The "Regulations" consists of 5 chapters and 43 articles, mainly under the institutional framework of the current Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations for improving the legal system of trademark agency, combing and refining relevant laws and regulations, ensuring the implementation of laws, clarifying the code of conduct for trademark agency, and urging trademark agencies to standardize operations and improve agency service level and service quality. At the same time, the Regulations urges to improve the supervision measures of trademark agency, strengthen the supervision during and after the event, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, and improve the supervision efficiency.