Although the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China does not
include specific provisions about secondary liability for trademark infringement
online, the Tort Liability Law has generally stipulated liability for infringement
online. The application of this provision has yet to be examined further. Courts
have gathered much experience regarding how to decide cases on secondary
liability for trademark infringement online, while decisions on secondary liability
for copyright infringement online have provided much insight into the validity of
criticisms and accolades brought by the practice of search engine advertising.
Overall, both Chinese legislation and judicial practices have imposed
comparatively lighter duties on online intermediaries than on primary infringers,
and only rule against online intermediaries under specific circumstances: (1) when
the intermediary has not taken measures after being made aware of suspected
infringement; (2) when the measures taken by the intemiediary are not effective
enough to prevent further infringement or (3) when the intermediary has shared the
proceeds of transactions with a direct infringer, yet has failed to exercise a
relatively higher duty of care than would be required of a non-profit-sharing
intermediary.