Editing Intellectual property in China (section)

=== Geographical indications ===
The use of place names as part of product names to emphasize regional specialties existed in China for over 3,000 years.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Cheng |first=Wenting |title=China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-24369-1 |series=Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-24370-7|s2cid=256742457 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=49}} China first encountered European-style [[geographical indication]]s as intellectual property following [[Reform and opening up|Reform and Opening Up]] in the 1980s.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=49}} Under China's 1984 Trademark Law, geographical names were excluded from trademark registration and in 1986, the [[State Administration for Industry and Commerce]] prohibited the use of geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county levels as trademarks.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=50}} However, regulators in China began protecting foreign geographical indications on a case-by-case basis.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|pages=51–52}}

In the 2001 amendments to China's ''Trademark Law'', China adopted the provision on geographical indications from the TRIPS Agreement.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=53}} Under this standard, if a trademark contains a place name but the product does not originate in that area, the geographical name should not be used or registered given the risk of misleading the public.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=53}} A [[grandfather clause]] provides an exception where an otherwise prohibited trademark already registered in good faith remains valid.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=53}}

The [[General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine]] (AQSIQ) established a ''[[sui generis]]'' system to cover the use of geographical indication products through the 2005 ''Provisions on the Protection of GI Products.''<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=53}} These regulations establish protection and requirements for products using place names if (1) the product is grown or bred from a certain place name location and all of the raw materials come from that place, (2) products produced elsewhere but for which all of the raw materials come from the place name location, and (3) products where some of the raw materials come from elsewhere but are produced in the place name location using specialized techniques.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=53–54}} This approach is intended to accommodate the use of geographical indications in handicrafts like embroidery or ceramics.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=54}} The regulation sets strict standards for products produced under the geographical indication, and non-compliance results in a producer losing the ability to use the place name.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=54}}

In 2007, the [[Ministry of Agriculture (China)|Ministry of Agriculture]] (MOA) issued a regulation on the protection of agricultural geographical indication products.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=54}} These are defined as including plants, animals, and microorganisms.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=54}}

[[China–European Union relations|China and the European Union]] signed a GI agreement in September 2020.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=67}} The agreement developed from pilot programs over the preceding eight years in which China and the EU worked on mutual registering and protection of geographical indications.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=67}} The 2020 agreement extends mutual recognition of geographical indications to 275 from each side.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=67}}

The 2020 U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement required China to amend its domestic regulations regarding geographic indications, including to provide that geographical indications may become generic over time.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=68}}

As of 2023, nine of China's bilateral [[free trade agreement]]s include provisions dealing with geographical indications.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=69}} China has generally taken a flexible approach with regard to these provisions and proceeds on the basis of reciprocity.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=74}}