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    • China's intellectual property rights protection improved to create a sound business environment
    • China’s race to become global intellectual property leader
    • China strengthens intellectual property rights protection prior to Beijing 2022
    • Important Trademark Development from China for 2022: What US Brand Owners Need to Know
    • How to Protect Trademarks in China
    • A simple guide to intellectual property in China
    • An Overview of the Latest Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law
    • What We Do When Trademark Squatters Get Smarter in China
    • The most important patent and IP business developments in China in 2021
    • A simple guide to trademark registration in China
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    • What China’s new patent laws mean for life sciences
    • China extends lead over U.S. in global patents filings, U.N. says
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    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
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    • China starts rebuff of various metaverse trademark applications amid rush to hype the internet’s next generation
    • China, US and Hong Kong trademarks – A quick guide
    • Working with Chinese Trademark Agencies – A Dangerous Game, or Delicate Tightrope
    • China will improve its IP system
    • 12 Intellectual property Protection Tip
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A number of metaverse-related trademark applications have been denied registration by the National Intellectual Property Administration
These included submissions made by NetEase, iQiyi and Xiaohongshu
The Chinese government has started rejecting various metaverse-related trademark applications, as authorities move to prevent abuse of the registration process amid the frenzied pace of submissions by many companies since last year.

Multiple trademark applications containing the word yuan yuzhou – translated as metaverse in Mandarin – have been denied registration by the National Intellectual Property Administration, according to the latest data from business and trademark registration tracking firm Tianyancha. Some of those refused registration were applications from video gaming giant NetEase, streaming video provider iQiyi and social commerce platform operator Xiaohongshu.

Applications filed by the likes of Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and ByteDance were still pending review by the regulator, according to information from Chinese business registration tracking platform Qichacha. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
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The recent action taken by China’s intellectual property (IP) regulator showed a deliberate strategy to deal with the rush of metaverse-related applications, while preventing trademark squatting and misunderstanding among consumers, according to a person inside the agency who declined to be named on Monday. This person, who has no authority to comment on official matters, indicated that the procedure for a second review of an application that was denied might take six to eight months to complete. Some 153 denied applications are now awaiting second review as of Monday, according to Tianyancha.
About 1,510 mainland Chinese companies, mostly in the technology sector, have recently applied to register trademarks related to the metaverse – the concept of a shared virtual environment that users access via the internet – according to a report on Sunday by Chinastarmarket.cn, an affiliate of the state-backed Shanghai United Media Group, citing data from Tianyancha. That number was up from the 130 companies which filed applications four months ago, according to Tianyancha.
Many consider the metaverse as the next phase of the internet. The term, which was coined by American writer Neal Stephenson for his 1992 science-fiction novel Snow Crash, refers to a lifelike, immersive virtual world where people can meet, work and play using devices including virtual reality headsets, video gaming consoles, and gadgets that offer augmented reality technology like smartphones and smart glasses.

The recent rejection of certain metaverse-related applications, according to one mainland IP researcher, showed how Chinese authorities are attempting to strike a balance between this concept’s potential economic impact and the hype surrounding it in the tech industry.
“What I see is the government encouraging enterprises to enter the metaverse arena with genuine technological capability,” said Chen Gaojie, from IP research firm PatSnap. “The metaverse involves many core cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.”
NetEase, China’s second-largest video games publisher after Tencent, received notices of rejection earlier this month on several of its metaverse-related trademarks, including “NetEase Metaverse” and others corresponding to its gaming studio Leihuo, artificial intelligence laboratory Fuxi and virtual meeting platform Yaotai. NetEase applied to register 26 such trademarks in total, according to a report by state-owned Securities Daily in December. The company’s other applications are still pending review, according to Tianyancha.
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Xiaohongshu, which applied to register “Xiaohongshu Metaverse” last September, received a notice of rejection earlier this month. The metaverse-related application of iQiyi was denied last December. It is now in the process for a second review.
Alibaba had filed 31 applications since September through its Singapore subsidiary for various metaverse trademarks related to its corporate name and business units such as AliCloud, Taobao and DingTalk. TikTok owner ByteDance applied to register six trademarks last October, while Tencent submitted 99 metaverse-related applications since September, according to Qichacha.
Chinese electric vehicle makers, including NIO and Xpeng, have also filed applications for metaverse-related trademarks in recent months.
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  • Home
  • About
  • IP Services
    • Trademark
    • Patent
    • Utility Model
    • Design
    • Copyright
  • Translation
  • News
    • Why do you need to register a trademark in China
    • What do you need to do to register a Chinese trademark
    • The Difference Between Copyright, Trademark and Patent
    • How And Why To Trademark In China
    • How do I protect myself from Intellectual Property Theft in China
    • How To Protect Your Intellectual Propery (IP) Rights In China
    • 7 Steps to Protect Your Intellectual Property in China
    • China is strengthening intellectual property protection
    • What should a foreign business know about filing a trademark in China
    • A Guide to the Chinese Trademark Registration Process
    • Why you should file your trademark in China now
    • Why is a Trademark Watch Important
    • Differences Between Trademark and Copyright
    • Avoiding IP Infringement with Chinese Sourcing
    • Cracking down trademark squatters under amended trademark law in China
    • How China is acting to combat bad faith trademarks
    • Intellectual Property protection when doing business in China
    • China's intellectual property rights protection improved to create a sound business environment
    • China’s race to become global intellectual property leader
    • China strengthens intellectual property rights protection prior to Beijing 2022
    • Important Trademark Development from China for 2022: What US Brand Owners Need to Know
    • How to Protect Trademarks in China
    • A simple guide to intellectual property in China
    • An Overview of the Latest Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law
    • What We Do When Trademark Squatters Get Smarter in China
    • The most important patent and IP business developments in China in 2021
    • A simple guide to trademark registration in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • How To Enforce Intellectual Property Rights In China
    • What China’s new patent laws mean for life sciences
    • China extends lead over U.S. in global patents filings, U.N. says
    • What Do China’s High Patent Numbers Really Mean
    • How to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • Procedure of filing trademark in China
    • The Importance of Having a Chinese Brand Name
    • Why Does Hong Kong Attract International Businesses
    • What’s the Difference Between Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks
    • How to initiate a trademark infringement civil proceedings in China
    • How to Brand your products for the Huge China Market and Reduce Your Risk
    • 8 Trademark Mistakes Your Start-Up Must Avoid
    • What’s the Difference Between OEM and ODM Products
    • What the amendment to Article 4 of the Chinese Trademark Law means for bad-faith trademark filings
    • China starts rebuff of various metaverse trademark applications amid rush to hype the internet’s next generation
    • China, US and Hong Kong trademarks – A quick guide
    • Working with Chinese Trademark Agencies – A Dangerous Game, or Delicate Tightrope
    • China will improve its IP system
    • 12 Intellectual property Protection Tip
    • How to protect your brand in China
    • China Trademark And Brand Development Index 2021: Which Are China's Top Provinces
    • Must I Register My Company Name as a Trademark in China?
    • What You Need to Know About China Trademark Registration as a Foreigner
    • How to File a Trademark in China
    • How to Register a Patent in China
    • How to effectively deal with the preemptive registered trademark in China
    • China’s Trademark Regime: How to Protect Your Brand in the Mainland
    • China Issues Stricter Rules on Trademark Use
    • News
    • News
  • Contact