Two and half years passed since the New China Trademark Law and Regulation on the Implementation of the China Trademark Law were implemented as of May 1, 2014, China Trademark Office (the CTMO) and Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (the TRAB) finally issue the new version of Trademark Review and Examination Criteria.

In recent the Guangzhou Intermediate Court has made a first instance judgment in the trademark infringement case of Zhou Lelun (an individual) v. Xin Bai Lun Trading (China) Co., Ltd, the Chinese subsidiary of sportswear manufacturer New Balance Athletic Shoes, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Xin Bai Lun Company”).

The State Council Leading Group of the National Fight against IP Infringement and Manufacture and Sale of Fake and Defective Goods in the Online Environment published their Work Plan (“The Plan”) on June 18, 2014. The Plan reports that the State Council will spend half a year carrying out a special campaign to address Online Infringement and Counterfeiting starting in June 2014.

For the completion of an invention-creation which is not by way of the execution of tasks assigned by a work entity or which does not primarily take advantage of the material and technical resources of such an entity, is such an invention-creation a service invention-creation?