A top-tier institution for China-Taiwan bilateral trademark negotiations, the Cross-strait Trademark Forum is a facilitator of dialogues crucial to widening as well as deepening trade ties between the two regions. Jointly organized by ROCCOC and the China-based CTA, this annual forum has taken place 10 times: in Taipei, Chengdu, Guizhou, Wuxi and Inner Mongolia since its November 2006 debut in Xiamen. Apparently, this ROCCOC-CTA collaboration has contributed substantially to private-sector efforts on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to improve trademark practices, while upholding businesses’ legitimate trademark rights.
In addition to private-sector discussions about trademark practices and theories, the forum provides a platform for China trademark authorities and their Taiwanese counterparts to engage in effective communication, as evidenced by the June 2010 signing of a monumental “Cross-Straits Agreement on Intellectual Property Right Protection and Cooperation.”

On January 15, 2007, a SAIC delegation — led by its vice minister Li Dongsheng and including his subordinates from the Trademark Office, Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, Fair Trade Bureau, and Enterprise Registration Bureau — visited Alishan, Yanchao and Gukeng in Taiwan, gaining fresh insight into how theses prestigious place names correspond to their respective specialty produce.

The November 27, 2008 forum in Chengdu addressed the fact that none of the trademark applications filed by Taiwanese firms involving such keywords as Chinese, China or Taiwan had been approved in China. After some negotiation, the brand name “Taiwan Beer” finally won official approval from Chinese authorities.
Also during the forum, concerns were raised over the damage inflicted upon Taiwan’s Tzu Chi Foundation by Chinese trademark squatters. Citing judicial precedents, the Taiwanese delegates insisted that “Tzu Chi” as a well-known trademark should justify relatively high levels of protection in China.

The 2009 forum opened on June 15th in Taipei. Despite the keyword “Taiwan” that caused its decade-long rejection in China, the trademark application for Taiwan Beer was approved during the forum’s 2008 edition (in Chengdu) with the help of Chang Pen-Tsao, then-chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China, and CTA, the governing body for cross-strait trademark issues. That approval faced no objections within three months of its February 6, 2009 announcement, officially making Taiwan Beer a registered trademark in China on May 6th the same year. Also in 2009, SAIC preliminarily approved Chunghwa Telecom’s three-year trademark application and announced it on September 27th, approximately coinciding with the registration of another three Taiwanese brand names: Chishang Rice, Yunching Realty and MOCCA, in China.

Staged in Guizhou on September 15th, the 2010 forum saw Chinese delegates from SAIC’s Trademark Office and CTA — along with their Taiwanese counterparts at CCICS and the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China (ROCCOC)’s Intellectual Property Committee —help the audience navigate four topics: “trademark strategizing and regulatory revisions,” “corporate trademark strategizing and cultivating well-known trademarks,” “the registration and protection of geographical indications (including place-oriented trademarks)” and “trademarks and unfair competition.”

On May 10th in Taipei, trademark experts and officials from both sides of Taiwan Strait commented on “case studies of abused trademarks and goodwill,” “anti-trademark squatting regulations and practices,” “well-known trademark (famous mark) protection mechanisms and case studies” at the 2011 forum, which was concluded with an intriguing debate over substantial topics.

On November 6th in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, trademark experts and officials from both sides of Taiwan Strait commented on “potential changes in Chinese and Taiwanese trademark regulations,” “different forms of trademark infringements,” “validating evidence of trademark usage” and “brand image and management” at the 2012 forum, which was concluded with an intriguing debate over substantial topics.

As usual, Chang Pen-Tsao, then-chairman of ROCCOC and CCICS, invited Taiwanese government officials, scholars, industry insiders and other trademark experts to the forum’s 8th edition to ensure its success. The 200-member Chinese delegation, meanwhile, was led by CTA president Liu Fan and featured SAIC officials — including vice minister Fu Shuangjian and his subordinates from the Trademark Office, Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, Antimonopoly and Anti-unfair Competition Enforcement Bureau, Department of International Cooperation (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs) and Si-level divisions — besides representatives from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and trade associations, industry and academia.

Led by Lin Fong-Cheng, who at the time doubled as honorary CCICS chairman and the ruling Kuomintang’s honorary vice chairman, the Taiwanese delegation to the July 17, 2014 forum included government officials, trademark experts/scholars, enterprise representatives and agencies. The Hohhot-hosted forum featured extensive, in-depth discussions revolving around issues of the keenest concern on both sides of Taiwan Strait: trademark infringements and compensations, trademark registration/protection mechanisms, trademark review processes and dispute resolution, as well as the cultivation of national brands — an event highlight evoking intense enthusiasm from the audience.

Growing in scope and benefits alike, the forum’s 10th edition took place in Taipei on April 23, 2015 and featured Chinese delegates invited by the ROCCOC, including SAIC Vice Minister Liu Junchen and his subordinates from the Department of International Cooperation (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs), Trademark Office, Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, in addition to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court staff. The forum brought together trademark experts, scholars and professionals, as well as representatives of leading enterprises on both sides of Taiwan Strait to explore topics concerning them the most: functions of China’s recently introduced Intellectual Property Courts, China’s revamped Trademark Law and practices of reviewing “trademark applications with adverse influence,” the protection of well-known or substantially influential trademarks, and cross-strait co-branding strategies. By enhancing mutual understanding and consensus, the forum provided impetus for China and Taiwan to systematically liaise with each other to further protect trademark rights (i.e. trademark exclusive rights) in the best interests of businesses as well as consumers, which in turn led to deepened cross-strait co-branding opportunities and trade synergies.
The forum ended with SAIC Vice Minister Liu presenting a trademark registration certificate to the century-old, Tainan-based Du Hsiao Yueh Restaurant and announcing that the Made in Taiwan (MIT) Smile mark had been preliminarily approved by Chinese trademark authorities, testifying to the fruitful cross-strait trademark protection efforts. Having collected a wide range of feasible opinions this year, the forum, a result of the ROCCOC-CTA partnership, will keep striving toward trademark protection on the basis of mutual trust, while simultaneously serving as a platform not only for co-branding initiatives across the greater China corporate community, but also for a win-win situation that benefits Taiwan and China alike.