China Justice Observer

中司观察

EnglishArabicChinese (Simplified)DutchFrenchGermanHindiItalianJapaneseKoreanPortugueseRussianSpanishSwedishHebrewIndonesianVietnameseThaiTurkishMalay

China Joins WIPO Hague System and Marrakesh Treaty

Mon, 07 Mar 2022
Categories: China Legal Trends

On 5 Feb. 2022, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that China has officially joined WIPO’s Hague System and the Marrakesh Treaty.

By submitting its instrument of accession to the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague System, China became the 68th contracting party to the 1999 Act and 77th member of the Hague Union. The 1999 Act will take effect in China on 5 May 2022.

The Hague System is a fast track to international design protection in multiple jurisdictions. It allows an applicant to register an industrial design in multiple countries through one application to WIPO, without filing separate applications for registration at different national or regional IP offices, avoiding complex formalities that come with differences in language and currency.

Marrakesh Treaty, known as the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, was adopted by WIPO in 2013 and entered into force in 2016. Being part of the Marakesh Treaty means that more than 17 million blind and visually impaired people in China will have greater access to copyrighted works. Moreover, it will promote the cross-border movement of Chinese-language content.

 

 

Cover Photo by Sifan Liu on Unsplash

Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team

Save as PDF

You might also like

China Eases Tax Refunds to Boost Inbound Tourist Spending

In 2025, China has lowered its departure tax refund threshold from 500 RMB to 200 RMB and doubled cash refund limits to 20,000 RMB while expanding eligible stores and streamlining processes, aiming to boost inbound tourism spending and promote Chinese products.

Chinese Courts Bolster Pregnant Workers' Rights Protection

In April 2025, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Supreme People's Court released typical labor dispute cases emphasizing stronger protection of pregnant employees' rights, including a case where unlawful job reassignment and salary reduction were ruled illegal.

China Revises Marriage Registration Regulation

China's revised marriage registration rules, effective May 2025, eliminate location restrictions, simplify procedures by removing hukou requirements, and align divorce processes with the Civil Code's cooling-off period.

China’s SPC Issues Foreign State Immunity Case Guidelines

In March 2025, China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued procedural guidelines for handling civil cases involving foreign state immunity, implementing the country's shift from absolute to restrictive immunity under the new Foreign State Immunity Law.

SPC Issues Prepaid Consumption Rules & Typical Cases

In March 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued a judicial interpretation and six guiding cases to tackle prepaid consumption disputes, invalidating unfair terms, protecting consumer refunds, and penalizing merchants who abscond with prepayments.

SPP Releases Guiding Cases on Civil Adjudication Supervision

In March 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released new guiding cases to strengthen supervision over civil judgments, ensuring fairness and correcting errors in court rulings, covering disputes like private loans and traffic accidents.

First Tort Suit Under China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law

In March 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) reported the first-ever tort suit under the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, enabling a Chinese firm to recover over CNY 84 million after a European partner withheld payment invoking a third country’s sanctions.

ABLI-HCCH webinar: Cross-Border Commercial Dispute Resolution – Electronic Service of Documents and Remote Taking of Evidence (July 10, 2025)

The Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI) and the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) will host their fourth joint webinar on July 10, 2024 (5:00–6:10 PM SGT), focusing on electronic service of documents and remote taking of evidence under the Service and Evidence Conventions, featuring expert speakers, with an early bird discount available until June 10.