Introduction China has completed the most consequential rewrite of its Trademark Law in over a decade. On June 26, 2026, the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People's Congress adopted a comprehensive revision of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China — the fifth amendment since the law was first enacted in 1982, and the first substantive overhaul since the narrow 2019 revision. The revised law, comprising 87 articles across nine chapters (up from 73 articles in eight chapters under the outgoing law), will enter into force on January 1, 2027. Trademarks registered before that date remain valid. For brand owners, in-house counsel, and IP practitioners with China exposure, this is not a routine update. The revision touches registration standards, opposition timelines, well-known mark protection, damages calculations, and — perhaps most significantly — the treatment of bad-faith and speculative filings that have long troubled foreig...
India became a member of the Madrid Protocol on July 8, 2013. At the time, the advantages of filing through the Madrid System were substantial when compared to filing a Convention or ordinary application directly in India. Initial Advantages of the Madrid Route Under the Madrid System, there was no limitation on the number of goods or services that could be listed in the specification. By contrast, applicants filing directly in India were required to pay additional fees for every character beyond 500 (excluding spaces) in the description of goods or services. Furthermore, Madrid applicants were not required to pay an association fee, whereas direct applicants with prior pending or registered applications for the same mark were liable to pay an association fee for each such prior application. Additional benefits of the Madrid route included savings on attorney fees and the convenience of centralized management of a trademark portfolio across multiple jurisdictions. Narrowing of the ...