Efforts strengthened to protect trademarks

China's top intellectual property regulator has rejected 63 trademark applications attempting to capitalize on the popularity of DeepSeek, a chatbot similar to ChatGPT.

The China National Intellectual Property Administration announced the decision on Tuesday and published a detailed list of rejected applicants on its website. The applications involved either the name or logo of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence company based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

As DeepSeek gains attention at home and abroad for its AI reasoning models, the administration said it has received trademark applications from businesses and individuals through IP agencies.

"These agencies were suspected of providing illegal services with the clear intention of 'riding the wave' of AI popularity to seek improper benefits," the administration said, adding that it has taken a strong stance against malicious trademark registrations.

"Our crackdown on such misconduct has continuously intensified in an effort to maintain the order of trademark registration, foster a favorable business environment, support technological self-reliance and promote high-quality development," it said.

Malicious trademark registrations are applications that violate the principles of legitimacy and good faith, including trademark squatting, appropriation and imitation, infringement of others' prior rights, misuse of public resources and mass or repeated registrations in bad faith.

China has been strengthening efforts to curb such registrations nationwide. Earlier this year, the administration guided major livestreaming and e-commerce platforms to protect IP rights while selling authorized products related to the 9th Asian Winter Games.

Shen Changyu, commissioner of the administration, said at a recent news conference that China has set standards for agencies providing trademark and patent registration services to improve the quality of the applications as the number of applicants continues to grow.

On Monday, Rui Wenbiao, head of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, said the city had more than 2.78 million valid registered trademarks in 2024, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year. He said Shanghai has established a sound system for protecting key trademarks.

"We have also set up credit profiles for patent and trademark agencies to better stimulate innovation and contribute to a favorable business environment," Rui said.

More measures will be introduced to improve the quality of intellectual property services to further advance China's high-quality development and high-level opening-up, he added.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn