The proposed third amendment to the Trademark Law is expected to increase penalties for infringement and strengthen trademark protection in four respects.
(1) Broaden the types of infringement giving rise to legal liability. Examples include unauthorised use of another person’s mark as a trade name or product name, and assisting others to infringe.
(2) Increase the upper limit of statutory damages from RMB500,000 to RMB1 million, approximately US$80,000 to US$160,000 at the figures reported.
(3) Strengthen penalties for repeated infringement, for example by imposing aggravated penalties on a party that infringes twice or more.
(4) Reduce the rights holder’s burden of proof. The proposed amendment is expected to expressly allow infringers to be ordered, where necessary, to provide relevant accounts and records.