According to "Organizational Reform Plan of the State Council", State Intellectual Property Office （SIPO）is restructured to take charge of the registration and administrative adjudications related to trademarks, patents, and GI. With all transformation work completed recently, SIPO announced the following changes effective from June 8th, 2018:
- Trademark registration certificates shall be stamped with the SIPO official seal; The procedures and documents for trademark application, acceptance, examination, opposition, review and administrative litigation remain unchanged for the time being, and the relevant documents shall still be stamped with the seals of the original authorities (Trademark Office, Trademark Review and Adjudication Board); the procedure and documents for trademark administrative reconsideration remain unchanged for the time being, but the relevant documents shall be stamped with SIPO's administrative reconsideration special seal.
- The acceptance, approval and publication of GIs shall be stamped with the SIPO official seal.
- Patent certificates shall be stamped with the SIPO official seal; the procedures and documents for patent application, acceptance, examination, reexamination, invalidation, administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation remain unchanged for the time being, and the documents shall be stamped with the SIPO seals for respective units.
- Registration certificates for integrated circuits layout design shall be stamped with the SIPO official seal; the procedures and documents for application, acceptance, examination, registration and cancellation of integrated circuits layout design remain unchanged for the time being, and the documents shall be stamped with the SIPO seals for respective units.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.