Heavier fines for trademark infringement

China is expected to increase the ceiling of fines imposed on trademark infringement from half a million yuan (78,800 U.S. dollars) to one million yuan, an official said on Monday. Zhang Jianhua, an official with the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, disclosed at a conference that legislators were planning to hand out heavier penalties in the latest revisions to China's Trademark Law. Repeated violations of the Trademark Law will face heavier punishment,Zhang said. He added trademark registrations will become more efficient under the latest amendment to the Law. China adopted its Trademark Law in August 1982. Two amendments to the law were adopted in 1993 and 2001. China has the world's largest number of registered trademarks, which totaled 7.17 million at the end of June, and valid trademark registrations, which totaled 6.09 million, according to official statistics. China has had the world's most trademark applications since 2002 when its trademark applications reached 300,000.