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...
Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Mandatory Pre-Institution Mediation in Continuing IP Infringement Cases
Summary The Supreme Court held that the mandatory pre-institution mediation requirement under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 cannot be mechanically applied to intellectual property infringement cases involving continuing violations, establishing a five-point test to determine when suits 'contemplate urgent interim relief' and thereby qualify for exemption from mandatory mediation. Background and Legal Framework Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, mandates pre-institution mediation for all commercial suits, requiring parties to attempt settlement through mediation before approaching the court. However, the provision contains an exception: suits that "contemplate any urgent interim relief" are exempt from this mandatory mediation requirement. The present case arose from an intellectual property dispute where Novenco Building and Industry A/S filed a patent and design infringement suit against Xero Energy Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The ...