The third revision to the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (the Trademark Law), which aroused wide concern, was examined and approved at the fourth meeting of the NPC Standing Committee on August 30th and will go into effect on May 1st 2014. The adoption of the new revision leads to heated discussion throughout the entire IP circle, and various interpretations of its impact have surfaced one after another.

This revision explicitly puts “good faith” as a general principle of the Trademark Law, i. e. the law states that “the registration and use of trademark should follow the principle of good faith.” The new revision also adopts a number of specific provisions to prevent conduct violating the principle of good faith. These provisions on good faith will play a positive role in reducing trademark squatting, malicious use and infringement, and in cleaning the agent service market. Hence, the “good faith” principle specified in the new revision has earned positive recognition from many professional experts and it is also considered significant progress in the trademark legislation.

From another perspective, when associated with the newly added “visiting parents regularly” provision in the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of the Aged, it is natural for some to question the wisdom and order of the existing legal system.

As early as 1986, Article 4 of the General Principles of Civil Law clearly provided the foundation of the four basic principles of all civil legal acts as being voluntariness, fairness, compensation for equal value and good faith. Since then, the “good faith” principle has established its “imperial” position in all areas applicable to China’s civil law. Given that Trademark Law already falls under the jurisdiction of civil law, the laws regulating the behavior of those applying for and using trademarks should undoubtedly comply with the above four principles. However, the new revision only places emphasis on “good faith” may mislead people into believing that “trademark application and usage behaviors” are not subject to the other three principles of “voluntariness, fairness and compensation for equal value.”