There is one important point which must be emphasized, that is, "central attack" when discussing international registrations It means that if, under the Madrid Agreement, within five years from the international registration date, the trademark is declared invalid or otherwise lost in the country of origin, all the national registration that are based upon it will also be lost. While under the Madrid Protocol, where a trademark encounters "central attack," it is possible to transform the international registration into a series of national or regional applications.
The international registration date or the subsequent designation date will be considered as the filing date of the national application. In addition, the priority date (if any) will also be applied to the national application.
To transform an international registration into a national application, it should meet on the following conditions in China:
(1) The original international registration is still valid in China.
(2) The original international registration was cancelled in accordance with Article 6.4 of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.
(3) The transformation application must be filed before CNIPA within 3 months from the date of the cancellation of the international registration.
(4) The trademark information submitted in the transformation application must be consistent with the original international registration, including the international registration number, international registration date, subsequent designation date, trademark sample, trademark name, applicant's name and address.
(5) The goods and/or services listed in the transformation application shall not exceed the scope of protection of the original international registration.
(6) The goods and/or services listed in the application shall not exceed the scope of cancellation of the original international registration.
(7) The application must comply with other relevant laws and regulations.
After the transformation application is filed before the CNIPA, the CNIPA will initiate the formality examination and substantial examination as they do for national applications.
A local representative is required to file the transformation application. Information about local representatives can be obtained from the CNIPA's website.
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