Big numbers, but not 'strong' trademarks

China has already grown into a "big nation of trademarks" for its number of applications and registrations, but it is still far from being a "strong nation of trademarks", said experts at the fourth China Trademark Festival that was held on Sept 6 in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

China now has about 5 million registered trademarks, the most in the world, but when the figure is divided by the number of those doing business in the marketplace, the results are poor, explained Yuan Qi, an official with the Trademark Department of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

"The ownership of trademarks for all market entities is only 10 percent, which means that for every 10 market entities, there is only one trademark," she said. "The figure for companies is 40 percent."