In 2025 Gazette No. 11 of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the SPC published a judgment on a retrial of a trademark invalidation case, which specified the requirements for the protection of a domain name and already used trademark.

Key Points of Judgment:
A domain name may be protected as a prior civil right under the Trademark Law. For it to receive protection as a prior civil right, the following requirements must be met:
(1) The domain name was registered earlier than the filing date of the disputed trademark application;
(2) The domain name has a certain degree of reputation and is known to the relevant public;
(3) The domain name is identical or similar to the sign of the disputed trademark;
(4) The goods or services provided by the domain name operator are identical or similar to those approved for use by the disputed trademark, and there is a likelihood of confusion or misidentification among the relevant public. Evidence of promotion and use of the goods or services provided by the domain name operator may serve as a factual basis for determining whether it has acquired a certain degree of reputation.

For a disputed trademark to constitute registration in bad faith of another party's already used trademark with a certain influence, the following requirements must be met:
(1) The prior used trademark had been in use and had acquired a certain influence before the filing date of the disputed trademark;
(2) The disputed trademark is identical or similar to the sign of the prior used trademark;
(3) The goods or services designated for use by the disputed trademark are identical or similar to those used by the prior trademark;
(4) The applicant for the disputed trademark acted with subjective bad faith, i.e., it knew or should have known of the prior used trademark and yet proceeded to register it in a pre-emptive manner.

Source:
2025 Gazette No. 11 of the Supreme People's Court:                           
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1851759543896061235&wfr=spider&for=pc (Chinese)