Interpretation by the Supreme People's Court of the Issues Relating to Application of Law to Pre-trial Suspension of Acts of Infringement of Exclusive Right to Use Trademarks and to Evidence Preservation (Adopted at the 1203rd Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court
on 25 December 2001, and enters into force on 22 January 2002)
The Interpretation of the Issues Relating to Application of Law to Pre-trial Suspension of Acts of Infringement of Exclusive Right to Use Trademarks and to Evidence Preservation is hereby made as follows in accordant with the relevant provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Law) and the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Procedure Law) with a view to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the trademark registrants and interested parties:
Article 1 Pursuant to the provisions of Articles 57 and 58 of the Trademark Law, the trademark registrants and interested parties may file applications with the People's Court for ordering pre-trial suspension of acts of infringement of the exclusive right to use trademarks or for evidence preservation.
The interested parties who may file said applications include licensees of registered trademark licensing contracts and lawful heirs of the property right in registered trademarks. Of the licensees of registered trademark licensing contracts, the monopolizing exclusive (excluding the licensor and any other licensee) licensees of registered trademark licensing contracts may alone file the application with the People's Court; the exclusive (excluding any other licensee) licensees of registered trademark licensing contracts may do so where the trademark registrants do not.
Article 2 The applications for ordering pre-trial suspension of acts of infringement of exclusive right to use trademarks or for evidence preservation shall be filed with the People's Court having the jurisdiction over trademark cases of the places where the infringing acts occur or where the defendants have their domicile.
Article 3 Trademark registrants and interested parties filing applications for ordering pre- trial suspension of acts of infringement of exclusive right to use trademarks shall submit written applications. In the written applications shall be indicated:
(1) the interested party and the basic information thereof;
(2) specific subject matter and scope of the application; and
(3) cause of the application, including the specific statement that failure to promptly suspend the infringement will cause suffer irreparable injury to the legitimate rights and interests of the trademark registrants and interested parties.
Trademark registrants and interested parties filing applications for evidence preservation shall submit written applications. In the written applications shall be indicated:
(1) the interested party and the basic information thereof;
(2) specific subject matter and scope of the application;
(3) object attestable by the evidence of which preservation is requested; and
(4) cause of application, including specific statement that the evidence is like to be destroyed or hard to be obtained afterwards, and the interested party and, moreover, his or its agent ad litem cannot collect evidence on their own for objective reasons.
Article 4 When filing the application for ordering pre-trial suspension of acts of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark, the applicant shall submit the following evidence:
(1) The trademark registrant shall submit the Certificate of Trademark Registration, and the interested party shall submit the trademark licensing contract, documents submitted for filing with the Trademark Office and a copy of the Certificate of Trademark Registration; where an exclusive licensee of registered trademark licensing contract files an application, it or he shall submit proof that the trademark registrant has waived application; where an heir of the property right in a registered trademark files an application, it or he shall submit proof of its or his inheritance or ongoing inheritance.
(2) Evidence attesting that the respondent is executing or is going to execute the act of infringement of the exclusive right to use the registered trademark, including the accused infringing goods.
Article 5 The adjudication made by the People's Court on pre-trial suspension of acts of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark or on evidence preservation shall be limited to the scope as of the application filed by the trademark registrant and interested party.
Article 6 When filing the application for pre-trial suspension of an act of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark, the applicant shall provide guaranty.
Where an applicant's application for pre-trial evidence preservation is likely to involve property loss to the respondent, the People's Court may order the applicant to provide guaranty accordingly.
Where the guaranty provided by the applicant in the form of pledge, hypothecation or the like, the People's Court shall give its permission.
Where the applicant does not provide the guaranty, the application shall be rejected.
When determining the scope of the guaranty, the People's Court shall take account of the income from the sales of the goods in respect of which the relevant act is ordered to be suspended, the appropriated fees for warehousing and care-taking thereof, the reasonable injury likely to be caused by suspending the relevant act, etc..
Article 7 Where, in the course of enforcing the adjudication to suspend the relevant act, great injury is likely to be caused to the respondent because of the adoption of the measure, the People's Court may order the applicant to provide additional guaranty accordingly. Where the applicant fails to do so, the relevant suspension measures may be cancelled.
Article 8 The measure adopted in adjudication on suspension of an act of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark shall not be cancelled because of the provision of guaranty by the respondent, except that the applicant otherwise agrees.
Article 9 Where the application filed by a trademark registrant or an interested party for suspension of an act of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark, after being accepted by the People's Court, meets the requirement set forth in Article 4 of this Interpretation upon examination, the People's Court shall make an adjudication in writing within 48 hours; the adjudication ordering the respondent to suspend the act of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark shall be immediately enforced.
The People's Court making the adjudication on suspension of a relevant act shall promptly notify the respondent thereof no later than the fifth day from the date of making the adjudication.
Article 10 Any interested party who is not satisfied with the adjudication on pre-trial suspension of an act of infringement of exclusive right to use trademark may make one application for reconsideration within ten days from the date of receipt of the adjudication. The enforcement of the adjudication shall not be suspended during the reconsideration.
Article 11 The People's Court shall examine the reconsideration application filed by the interested party as to the following:
(1) Whether the act the respondent is executing or is going to execute infringes the exclusive right to use the registered trademark involved;
(2) Whether not taking the relevant measure would result in irreparable injury to the legitimate rights and interests of the applicant;
(3) Provision of the guaranty by the applicant; and
(4) Whether ordering the respondent to suspend the relevant act would prejudice public interests.
Article 12 Where a trademark registrant or an interested party does not institute legal proceedings within fifteen days after the People's Court adopts the measure to suspend the relevant act or to preserve evidence, the People's Court shall cancel the measure adopted pursuant to the adjudication.
Article 13 Where the applicant does not institute legal proceedings or the erroneous application causes injury to the respondent, the respondent may institute legal proceedings in the People's Court having the jurisdiction, requesting the applicant to make compensation, or requesting for compensation of damages in the proceedings instituted by the trademark registrant or interested party against infringement of the exclusive right to use trademark. The People's Court may simultaneously handle the matter.
Article 14 The adjudication on suspension of an act of infringement of the exclusive right to use trademark shall normally remain valid until the date on which the legal instrument of final instance takes effect.
The People's Court may also fix a specific time limit for suspending the relevant act according to the circumstances of the case; at the expiration of the time limit, the People's Court may make adjudication to continue the suspension of the relevant act at the request of, and in line with the provision of the additional guaranty by the interested party.
Article 15 Any respondent contravenes the People's Court's adjudication on the suspension of an act of infringement of the exclusive right to use trademark or on evidence preservation shall be treated pursuant to the provision of Article 102 of the Civil Procedure Law.
Article 16 Where a trademark registrant or an interested party requests to first suspend an infringement of the exclusive right to use registered trademark when instituting legal proceedings in the People's Court against the trademark infringement or in the legal proceedings, the People's Court may first make the adjudication. The matter provided for in the foregoing relating to the application, evidence submission, determination of guaranty, enforcement of adjudication and reconsideration shall be handled pursuant to the provisions of this Judicial Interpretation.
Article 17 In respect of cases of pre-trial suspension of acts of infringement of the exclusive right to use trademarks and of evidence preservation, the applicants shall pay the fees according to the Methods of the People's Court for Collecting Litigation Fees and the Supplementary Provisions thereof.
(Source: China Patent Agent(H.K.) Ltd.)
中华人民共和国最高人民法院公告
《最高人民法院关于诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为和保全证据适用法律问题的解释》已于２００１年１２月２５日由最高人民法院审判委员会第１２０３次会议 通过。现予公布，自２００２年１月２２日起施行。 二００二年一月九日 最高人民法院关于诉前停止侵犯注册 商标专用权行为和保全证据适用法律问题的解释 （２００１年１２月２５日最高人民法院审判委员会 第１２０３次会议通过 法释〔２００２〕２号） 为切实保护商 标注册人和利害关系人的合法权益，根据《中华人民共和国民法通则》、《中华人民共和国商标法》（以下简称商标法）、《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》（以下简 称民事诉讼法）的有关规定，现就有关诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为和保全证据适用法律问题解释如下：
第一条 根据商标法第五十七条、第五十八条的规定，商标注册人或者利害关系人可以向人民法 院提出诉前责令停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为或者保全证据的申请。 提出申请的利害关系人，包括商标使用许可合同的被许可人、注册商标财产权利的 合法继承人。注册商标使用许可合同被许可人中，独占使用许可合同的被许可人可以单独向人民法院提出申请；排他使用许可合同的被许可人在商标注册人不申请的 情况下，可以提出申请。
第二条 诉前责令停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为或者保全证据的申请，应当向侵权行为地或者被申请人住所地对商标案件有管辖权的人民法院提出。
第三条 商标注册人或者利害关系人向人民法院提出诉前停止 侵犯注册商标专用权行为的申请，应当递交书面申请状。申请状应当载明：（一）当事人及其基本情况；（二）申请的具体内容、范围；（三）申请的理由，包括有 关行为如不及时制止，将会使商标注册人或者利害关系人的合法权益受到难以弥补的损害的具体说明。 商标注册人或者利害关系人向人民法院提出诉前 保全证据的申请，应当递交书面申请状。申请状应当载明：（一）当事人及其基本情况；（二）申请保全证据的具体内容、范围、所在地点；（三）请求保全的证据 能够证明的对象；（四）申请的理由，包括证据可能灭失或者以后难以取得，且当事人及其诉讼代理人因客观原因不能自行收集的具体说明。
第四条 申请人提出诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为的申请 时，应当提交下列证据： （一）商标注册人应当提交商标注册证，利害关系人应当提交商标使用许可合同、在商标局备案的材料及商标注册证复印件； 排他使用许可合同的被许可人单独提出申请的，应当提交商标注册人放弃申请的证据材料；注册商标财产权利的继承人应当提交已经继承或者正在继承的证据材料。 （二）证明被申请人正在实施或者即将实施侵犯注册商标专用权的行为的证据，包括被控侵权商品。
第五条 人民法院作出诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为或者保全证据的裁定事项，应当限于商 标注册人或者利害关系人申请的范围。
第六条 申请人提出诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为的申请时应当提供担保。 申请人申请诉前保全证据可能涉及被申请人财产损失的，人民法院可以责令申请 人提供相应的担保。 申请人提供保证、抵押等形式的担保合理、有效的，人民法院应当准许。 申请人不提供担保的，驳回申请。 人民法院确定担保的范围时，应当考虑责令停止有关行为所涉及的商品销售收益，以及合理的仓储、保管等费用，停止有关行为可能造成的合理损失等。
第七条 在执行停止有关行为裁定过程中，被申请人可能因采 取该项措施造成更大损失的，人民法院可以责令申请人追加相应的担保。申请人不追加担保的，可以解除有关停止措施。
第八条 停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为裁定所采取的措施，不因 被申请人提供担保而解除，但申请人同意的除外。
第九条 人民法院接受商标注册人或者利害关系人提出责令停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为的申请后，经审查符合本规定第四条的，应当在四十八小时内作出书面裁定；裁定责 令被申请人停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为的，应当立即开始执行。 人民法院作出诉前责令停止有关行为的裁定，应当及时通知被申请人，至迟不得超过 五日。
第十条 当事人对诉前 责令停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为裁定不服的，可以在收到裁定之日起十日内申请复议一次。复议期间不停止裁定的执行。
第十一条 人民法院对当事人提出的复议申请应当从以下方面 进行审查： （一）被申请人正在实施或者即将实施的行为是否侵犯注册商标专用权； （二）不采取有关措施，是否会给申请人合法权益造 成难以弥补的损害； （三）申请人提供担保的情况； （四）责令被申请人停止有关行为是否损害社会公共利益。
第十二条 商标注册人或者利害关系人在人民法院采取停止 有关行为或者保全证据的措施后十五日内不起诉的，人民法院应当解除裁定采取的措施。
第十三条 申请人不起诉或者申请错误造成被申请人损失的，被申请人可以向有管辖权的人民法院 起诉请求申请人赔偿，也可以在商标注册人或者利害关系人提起的侵犯注册商标专用权的诉讼中提出损害赔偿请求，人民法院可以一并处理。
第十四条 停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为裁定的效力，一般 应维持到终审法律文书生效时止。 人民法院也可以根据案情，确定停止有关行为的具体期限；期限届满时，根据当事人的请求及追加担保的情况，可以 作出继续停止有关行为的裁定。
第十五条 被申请人违反人民法院责令停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为或者保全证据裁定的，依照民事诉讼法第一百零二条规定处理。
第十六条 商标注册人或者利害关系人向人民法院提起商标侵 权诉讼时或者诉讼中，提出先行停止侵犯注册商标专用权请求的，人民法院可以先行作出裁定。前款规定涉及的有关申请、证据提交、担保的确定、裁定的执行和复 议等事项，参照本司法解释有关规定办理。
第十七条 诉前停止侵犯注册商标专用权行为和保全证据的案件，申请人应当按照《人民法院诉讼收费办法》及其补充规定缴纳费用。
发布部门：最高 人民法院 发布日期：2002年01月09日 实施日期：2002年01月22日 (中央法规)