(Approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on March 15, 1985, and Promulgated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on March 15, 1985)
In accordance with Article 9 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Provisions on claims for priority in applying for registration of trademarks in China by nationals of the States Parties to the Paris Convention are formulated as follows:
1. From March 19, 1985. the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People' s Republic of China shall entertain claims for priority made by nationals of the States Parties to the Paris Convention in their application for registration of trademarks in China.
2. From March 19, 1985, nationals of the States Parties to the Paris Convention, who after filing an application for registration of a trademark in any other State Party, file another application for registration of the same trademark for the same product in China, may claim priority within six months after the first filing, in accordance with the Paris Convention.
3. Any applicant who claims priority according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall at the time of filing the application, submit a written declaration, together with a duplicate of the first application for registration of the Trademark filed in another State Party to the Paris Convention,. The duplicate shall be certified by the department in charge of trademarks of that State, and the application date and the application number shall be clearly stated. The duplicate does not need to be authenticated. but the other papers required to be submitted to the Trademark Office shall be authenticated.
When declaring claim for priority, the applicant may, in case the above-mentioned duplicate and the related papers are not available, submit them within three months following the date of second filing. If no written declaration is submitted or the duplicate and the related papers are not submitted at the expiry of three months, the applicant shall not be regarded as having claimed priority.
4. When the written declaration is approved, the date of the first application for registration of the trademark filed in another State Party to the Paris Convention shall be regarded as the application date in China.
