On 25 March 2020 the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released an exposure draft on the Guide for Determining Geographical Indications as Generic Names and invited public comments until 9 May 2020.
The guide is considered a response to the first phase of the China-US Economic and Trade Agreement, since it completely absorbs the standards for determining generic names stipulated in the agreement.
As China provided a written undertaking in the trade agreement to supply clear procedures to allow for the opposition and cancellation of existing geographical indications (GIs) and allow fair market access for exports of products relying on trademarks or the use of generic terms, if the guide does enter into force, it may pose challenges to the validity and protection scope of existing GIs in China.
