CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Chuanhong Long, Bin Zhang, Cuicui Liang and Lei Fu, CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office
mislead consumers and will not damage the function of the trade mark, and the goods have been imported through legal customs channels into China, the sale of these products will not be regarded as trade mark infringement.
al court must serve copies of the appeal to the opposing parties within five days. The opposing parties then have 15 days to submit their writ - ten statements of defence. (Parties not domi - ciled within the PRC have 30 days to submit their statement of defence). The trial of the case will proceed unaffected if the statement of defence is not filed within the specified time. According to the Civil Procedure Law, a peo - ple’s court must complete the trial of an appeal case against a judgment within three months after the appeal is accepted. Any extension of this period under special circumstances requires the approval of the chief justice of the people’s court. For an appeal case against a ruling, a people’s court must issue a final ruling within 30 days after the appeal is accepted. 12. Additional Considerations 12.1 Emerging Issues Punitive Damages and Bad-Faith Registrations “Punitive damages” in trade mark infringement cases are receiving attention. Some provincial courts have issued further explanations on the implementation of “punitive damages” which is regulated in the 2013 Trademark Law. Another key issue is the prevention of bad-faith registra - tion. It is regulated in the 2019 Trademark Law that no application for trade mark registration may infringe upon the existing prior rights of others, and that bad-faith registrations by illicit means of a trade mark with a certain reputation, already used by another party, will be prohibited.
11. Appeal 11.1 Appellate Procedure Decisions of the Administration
In trade mark or copyright infringement deci - sions made by the administration for market regulation or copyright administrative depart - ments, if the parties involved are dissatisfied, they can apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit in accordance with the law. Decisions of the Court In trade mark or copyright infringement judg - ments made by the first instance court, appeals are typically filed with a higher-level court. The appeal process involves submitting a written appeal petition, presenting arguments and evi - dence, and attending court hearings. The appel - late court will review the case, assess the argu - ments and evidence, and make a decision based on the appeal. 11.2 Timeframes for Appealing Trial Court Decisions If any party is dissatisfied with the judgment or ruling of the first instance court, they have the right to file an appeal with the higher-level people’s court within 15 days from the date of receiving the written judgment, or within ten days from the date of receiving the written ruling. (Parties that are not domiciled within the territory of the PRC have the right to appeal against a first instance judgment or ruling within 30 days.) Upon receiving a written appeal, the original tri -
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