Record filings still 'not powerful'

Beijing - Despite the global economic downturn, the number of trademark applications and approved registrations set all-time records in China last year to rank No 1 worldwide.

By the end of 2009, more than 7.2 million applications and nearly 4.3 million approvals had been filed or registered over a period of three decades, with last year's 830,000 applications surpassing the previous record of 766,000 in 2006, according to the Trademark Office of State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

"However, a backlog of applications has become a big problem with the substantial increase in applications for trademark registration in recent years," Zhao said. "The most crucial reason is that we do not have enough staff."