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...
Foreign Filing Disclosure in India on Form 3: A Practitioner’s Guide to Disclosure and Risk Management
1. Introduction Section 8 of the Patents Act, 1970 (“the Act”) and the corresponding provisions of the Patents Rules, 2003 (“the Rules”), particularly Rules 12(1), 12(1A), 12(2), 12(3) and 12(4), impose a continuing obligation on patent applicants to keep the Controller of Patents informed about applications for the same or substantially the same invention filed in countries outside India. This obligation is discharged primarily through Form 3 — the Statement and Undertaking prescribed under the Act. Non-compliance with Section 8 remains one of the most frequently invoked grounds for pre-grant opposition, post-grant opposition, and revocation of a patent in India. A thorough understanding of the scope, timing, and content of this obligation is therefore essential for every patent practitioner. 2. Section 8(1)(a) read with Rules 12(1) and 12(1A) — Initial Statement and Undertaking 2.1 Statutory Provision Under Section 8(1)(a) of the Act, read with Rule ...