Taiwan applicants for trademark registration on the Chinese mainland can ask for priority rights soon, China's industry and commerce administration authority announced on Thursday.

Starting Nov 22, applicants from Taiwan can enjoy priority in trademark registration on the mainland within six months of the first time the applicants filed the same trademark application in Taiwan, said a notice on the website of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

The date of the first time the application was filed in Taiwan can be traced back to Sept 12, 2010, the notice says. It will, when the request for priority rights has been approved, be considered the application date with the SAIC.

The move is aimed at protecting the rights of applicants from Taiwan, assured by an agreement on intellectual property rights protection across the Taiwan Straits, which took effect on Sept 12, 2010, an official of the SAIC said, according to the Xinhua News Agency.