The Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (1982) has gone through two major amendments in the past two decades. The latest amendment was adopted on October 27, 2001. On April 20, 2010, the Supreme Court of the People’s Republic of China issued the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Relating to Trials of Administrative Cases Concerning the Grant and Confirmation of Trademark Rights (hereafter “the Opinion”) to provide more guidance and clarification in this area.

The Opinion includes twenty numbered paragraphs, covering a wide range of issues including: trademark rejection, trademark opposition, trademark disputes, trademark cancellation and trademark registration by agents. The Opinion draws a distinction between trademarks that have been extensively used and those that have not. It seems that the former will be afforded more protection. The opinion also elaborates on the definition of a number of terms, including “exaggeration and fraud” and “distinctiveness.”

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