The China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA") recently drafted and issued the Guidelines for Determination of Generic Terms in Geographical Indication Protection (Draft for Comments) (the "Draft for Comments") for public consultation by May 9, 2020.

The Draft for Comments stipulates that a geographical indication seeking protection should not be a generic term used in China. In case a combination of terms is used to apply for geographical indication protection, the separate component of the terms that is or could become a generic term will not be protected for the geographical indication purpose. In addition, the Draft for Comments states that determining whether the term associated to a geographical indication should be considered generic should give consideration to five factors, including "use of such term in China's laws, regulations, national standards or industry standards to represent a specific type or category of products". Moreover, the Draft for Comments proposes that before an announcement for geographical indication protection or an administrative decision is made, the part in the combination of terms that will not protected should be made public under Article 5 of the Draft for Comments.

(Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration)