USPTO’s Battle Against Fraudulent Trademark Filings From China: Origins, Strategies, and Ethics

In recent years Chinese companies have become major filers of trademarks at the USPTO. The filings have likely been in response to market demands, the growth of e-commerce, and domestic Chinese subsidies. However, the increase has also brought with it numerous unscrupulous actors on both sides of the Pacific. The result has been a surge in fraudulent USPTO trademark filings and disciplinary actions brought by USPTO, as well as cancellation of thousands of trademark applications. The increase in USPTO disciplinary activity has also come at a time that China has been increasingly concerned about misuse of IP filing subsidies and the need to increase its own controls over bad faith filings in China. These developments in Chinese trademark filings at the USPTO may lso reflects the difficulties in establishing and enforcing cross-border disciplinary rules.

Speaker:

Mark Cohen, BCLT, Asia Society
Michael Mangelson. USPTO
Jennifer Chicoski, USPTO
Haiyan Ren, Wanhuida