How to determine the three-year period for a cancellation request against a registered international trademark on the ground of non-use for three consecutive years?
According to Article 49 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law of China, a request for cancellation of a registered international trademark on the ground of non-use for three consecutive years should be filed three years after the expiration of the period of refusal. Where an international trademark is under the procedure of review for refusal or under the procedure of opposition after the expiration of the period of refusal, such a request for cancellation should be filed three years after the date of the decision to approve the registration made by CNIPA entering into force.
The period of refusal for an application designating territorial extension to China is 12 or 18 months from the date of notification. If the Office of the holder is in the country which is a member of both Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol, the period of refusal is 12 months; if the Office of the country of the holder is a member of the Protocol only, the period of refusal is 18 months.
The date of notification is completely shown as “580 Date of recording (date of notification from which the time limit to notify the refusal starts)” in the WIPO Madrid Monitor: https://www3.wipo.int/madrid/monitor/en/
