How to Register a Trademark in China as a Foreign Company

📅 2026-06-07 🏷️ Trademark

## A Complete Guide for Foreign Companies to Register a Trademark in China As the world's second-largest economy and largest exporter of goods, China is a market that no international brand hoping to establish a foothold in Asia can afford to ignore. However, China operates a "first-to-file" trademark system, which is fundamentally different from the "first-to-use" system practiced in many Western countries. This means that even if your brand has been used overseas for years, failing to register it in China in a timely manner could allow others to preemptively register it, leaving you entangled in passive infringement lawsuits or costly buyout negotiations. This article provides foreign companies with a complete, practical guide to registering a trademark in China from scratch. ## Why Foreign Companies Must Register Trademarks in China The core principle of China's trademark system is "registration confers rights" rather than "use confers rights." According to the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the acquisition of exclusive trademark rights is based on registration. This system design creates several critical issues for foreign companies: **First, the risk of trademark squatting is extremely high.** Because China does not recognize mere "prior use" as a basis for establishing rights, certain individuals or companies systematically squat on the Chinese translations, English names, and even graphic trademarks of well-known foreign brands. Once squatted, the original brand owner must either spend years and significant sums on opposition, invalidation, and other enforcement procedures, or pay a high price to purchase the trademark from the squatter — both options carry heavy costs. **Second, it is a mandatory requirement for e-commerce platform entry.** Major Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Tmall Global, JD Global, and Pinduoduo require brand owners to provide a Chinese trademark registration certificate or a valid trademark application filing receipt when reviewing entry applications. Without a Chinese trademark, you cannot legally sell your own products through these channels. **Third, it is a prerequisite for customs protection.** The filing system of China's Customs Intellectual Property Protection requires brand owners to hold a valid Chinese trademark registration certificate. Without a filing, Customs cannot proactively intercept the import or export of infringing counterfeit goods, making the fight against fakes significantly more difficult. **Fourth, a trademark is a core component of brand assets.** When conducting brand licensing, franchising, or joint ventures in China, the Chinese trademark registration certificate is the most essential legal document for evaluating brand value and confirming ownership of rights. ## The Complete Trademark Registration Process The statutory authority responsible for foreign companies' trademark applications in China is the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Under smooth circumstances, the entire process from application to receiving the registration certificate typically takes 9 to 14 months. Below is a detailed breakdown of the steps: | Stage | Timeline | Key Matters | Fee Range (Official Fees) | |-------|----------|-------------|---------------------------| | Trademark Search | 1–2 weeks before filing | Search for identical or similar trademarks; assess registration success rate | Free (self-search) or approx. 500–2,000 CNY (via agent) | | Submit Application | Day 0 | Determine trademark design, goods/services classes, submit application documents | 270 CNY/class (including 10 goods/services items) | | Formal Examination | 1–2 months after filing | CNIPA reviews document completeness, issues filing receipt | No additional fee | | Substantive Examination | 6–9 months after acceptance | CNIPA examines distinctiveness, similarity, legality | No additional fee | | Preliminary Publication | After examination passes | 3-month publication period; third parties may file oppositions | No additional fee | | Registration Approval | No opposition after publication period | Registration certificate issued; trademark rights take effect | No additional fee | Several points requiring special attention: First, regarding the classification of goods and services. China adopts the 11th edition of the Nice Classification, covering 45 classes. A common mistake made by foreign companies is registering only the core class (e.g., Class 25 for clothing) while neglecting defensive classes (e.g., Class 18 for leather goods, Class 35 for advertising and sales services). It is recommended to cover a sufficiently broad range of classes at once, based on the brand's actual business scope and expansion plans for the next 3–5 years. Second, regarding priority rights. If your trademark has already been filed for first registration in a Paris Convention member country, you may claim priority when filing an application for the same trademark with CNIPA within 6 months of the first filing date. This means the date of the first filing will be treated as the filing date in China. This is extremely useful in countering the risk of squatting. Third, regarding evidence preservation. From the moment you submit your application, it is advisable to systematically preserve all evidence of trademark use in the Chinese market: product packaging photos, sales contracts, invoices, screenshots of advertisements, exhibition records, media coverage, etc. This evidence will be crucial in any subsequent opposition, invalidation, or infringement proceedings to prove brand recognition and actual use. ## Practical Strategies for Choosing a Trademark Agency According to Chinese trademark law, foreign companies applying for trademark registration in China must entrust a legally established trademark agency to handle the process; they cannot submit applications directly to CNIPA on their own. This means choosing a reliable agency is an unavoidable necessity. When selecting an agency, it is recommended to evaluate from the following dimensions: **1. Qualifications and Experience.** Confirm that the agency is registered with CNIPA and has practical experience handling cases for foreign clients, particularly experience with complex procedures such as oppositions, invalidations, and review of refusal. **2. Professional Competence.** A good agency will provide a detailed trademark search and analysis report that not only lists existing similar trademarks but also analyzes the probability of refusal and corresponding strategies, rather than simply promising "100% registration success." Agencies that guarantee approval at all costs should actually be viewed with caution. **3. Communication Efficiency.** The trademark application process can take over a year, during which various situations such as corrections, refusals, and oppositions may arise. The agency's response speed and professional communication ability directly affect the smoothness of the entire process. **4. Fee Transparency.** A legitimate agency will provide a clear fee breakdown before engagement, listing both official fees and agency service fees. If you encounter a price significantly lower than the market average, special caution is warranted — some agencies lure clients with low initial prices and then charge high additional fees during correction, review of refusal, and other stages. It is worth noting that some professional Chinese intellectual property service providers have already established mature foreign client service systems. For example, organizations like WeRights offer full-chain services from trademark search and application to subsequent monitoring and enforcement, helping foreign brand owners manage their Chinese trademark assets at lower cost and higher efficiency. ## Strategies for Handling Trademark Refusals Trademark application refusals are quite common in China. According to CNIPA statistics, the overall refusal rate for trademark registrations ranges between 30% and 40%, and may be even higher in certain popular classes (such as Class 25 for clothing, Class 30 for food, Class 35 for advertising and sales). Understanding the reasons for refusal and corresponding strategies can help brand owners make more informed decisions. Common grounds for refusal include: - **Lack of distinctiveness**: The trademark is too simple or generic to serve as an identifier of the source of goods. For example, marks consisting solely of common geometric shapes, simple letter combinations, or common advertising slogans. - **Similarity to prior trademarks**: The trademark is similar to a registered or pending trademark in terms of wording, pronunciation, meaning, or overall appearance, and the designated goods/services fall within the same or similar groups. - **Violation of prohibitive provisions**: Includes national names, flags, emblems, and other official symbols, or content that is deceptive or likely to mislead the public regarding the quality or origin of goods. - **Bad-faith squatting**: Determined to be a preemptive registration, by improper means, of a trademark already used by another party that has established a certain level of influence. When a refusal notice is received, the applicant has 15 days (from the date of receipt) to decide whether to file a request for review of the refusal. The review is conducted by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board under CNIPA, and the entire review process typically takes 6–9 months. During the review stage, the agent may submit evidence of use, proof of reputation, coexistence agreements, and other materials to argue for the registrability of the trademark. ## Post-Registration Maintenance and Management Receiving the trademark registration certificate is not the finish line but the starting point of brand asset management. The validity period of a Chinese trademark registration is 10 years. A renewal application should be filed within the 12 months preceding the expiry date, with a grace period of 6 months after expiry. If renewal is not completed within this period, the trademark will be cancelled, and third parties may apply to register an identical or similar trademark. In day-to-day maintenance, the following matters deserve special attention: **Systematic management of use evidence.** According to Chinese trademark law, if a registered trademark has not been used for three consecutive years, any third party may apply for its cancellation. This is commonly known as the "non-use cancellation" procedure. To address potential non-use cancellation applications, brand owners should consciously preserve evidence of trademark use. In China, the criteria for recognizing "use" include: affixing the trademark on goods or their packaging, using the trademark in contracts and invoices, and using the trademark in advertising and exhibitions. It should be noted that use solely in internal company documents or brochures, or use in overseas (non-China) markets, is generally not recognized as use within Chinese territory. **Trademark changes and assignments.** If information such as the brand owner's company name or address changes, a corresponding change in the trademark registrant's name or address must be filed with CNIPA in a timely manner. Consequences of failing to do so include: inability to properly receive various notices from CNIPA (which could result in missing critical deadlines for review of refusal or renewal), as well as obstacles when filing trademark license recordals or assignments. **Monitoring and enforcement.** It is recommended to engage a professional agency for continuous monitoring of CNIPA's trademark publications. If a third party applies to register a trademark identical or similar to yours, filing an opposition promptly within the 3-month publication period is the most cost-effective and efficient time to prevent squatting. If the opposition period has passed, a request for invalidation can be filed within 5 years of the squatted trademark's registration. For well-known trademarks that have been squatted in bad faith, the 5-year limitation on invalidation does not apply. **Customs recordal.** After filing an intellectual property recordal of your Chinese trademark registration certificate with the General Administration of Customs of China, Customs may proactively detain goods suspected of infringing the trademark upon import or export and notify the rights holder for confirmation. This is one of the most powerful administrative measures against cross-border infringement. The recordal itself is free of charge, and the validity period of a single recordal is synchronized with the validity of the trademark registration. ## Summary: Trademark Action Checklist for Foreign Companies Entering the Chinese Market For foreign brands planning to enter the Chinese market, the following is the recommended standard operating procedure: 1. Initiate Chinese trademark search and application at least 12–18 months before formally entering the market. 2. Engage a CNIPA-registered trademark agency, ensuring the agency agreement includes clauses for subsequent monitoring and enforcement services. 3. Fully cover core classes and defensive classes, and consider registering both the Chinese name and the English name simultaneously. 4. If priority rights are available, be sure to claim them within 6 months of the first filing date. 5. Systematically preserve evidence of trademark use in the Chinese market to address potential non-use cancellation risks. 6. File for Customs IP recordal immediately upon receiving the registration certificate. 7. Continuously monitor CNIPA trademark publications to promptly identify and respond to similar trademark applications. 8. Submit a renewal application within 12–6 months before the trademark's validity period expires. In China, a trademark is not an optional certificate — it is the moat and passport for a brand to operate legally in the Chinese market. Investment in trademark matters is, at its core, an investment in a brand's right to identity and pricing power in a market of 1.4 billion people. Rather than spending several times more money and time on enforcement after your brand has been squatted, it is far better to establish your intellectual property strategy at the very beginning of market entry, laying the most fundamental legal foundation for long-term, stable growth. If you still have questions about the specific process or need further personalized guidance, you can contact the WeRights team via Telegram @token_1_com for professional advice.

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