The statutory forms of trademark infringement are enumerated in Article 57 of the Trademark Law, in seven categories: absence of permission is the premise, likelihood of confusion is the core test, and selling, counterfeiting labels, and contributory infringement unfold along the whole chain of trademark use.
The Seven Categories of Conduct Under Article 57
- Using a trademark identical to a registered trademark on identical goods without the registrant's permission;
- Using a trademark similar to a registered trademark on identical goods, or using a trademark identical or similar to a registered trademark on similar goods, without permission, where confusion is likely to result;
- Selling goods that infringe the exclusive right to a registered trademark;
- Counterfeiting or manufacturing another's registered trademark labels without authorization, or selling such counterfeited or unauthorized labels;
- Replacing a registered trademark without the registrant's consent and returning the relabeled goods to the market—reverse passing off;
- Knowingly providing facilitation conditions for infringement of another's exclusive right, such as providing warehousing, transport, or platform services with knowledge of the infringement, thereby helping the infringement;
- A catch-all category of other damage to another's exclusive right to a registered trademark, such as prominently using another's registered trademark as a corporate trade name to mislead the public (elaborated by judicial interpretations).
Key Points of Findings
- Trademark use is the premise: using a sign to identify the source of goods enters infringement evaluation; purely descriptive or referential use generally does not constitute infringement;
- Likelihood of confusion is the measure: except for identical marks on identical goods (where confusion may be presumed), all other cases require assessing whether the relevant public is likely to be confused;
- Well-known trademarks enjoy cross-class protection: under Article 13, reproduction, imitation, or translation of a well-known trademark on dissimilar goods, where the public is misled and the interests of the well-known trademark's registrant may be harmed, is likewise prohibited.
Corresponding Liability
Once infringement is established, the market regulation authority may enforce under Article 60, damages liability applies under Article 63, and where the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, criminal liability is pursued under Article 67.
If you are facing these issues, you may first run a trademark monitoring check on MyTMBee, confirm feasibility, and then decide whether to file—avoiding blind filings that waste official fees.