Guides & FAQs

Trademark is any visual sign capable of distinguishing the goods of one natural person, legal person or any other organization from those of others, including words, devices, letters of numerals, three-dimensional symbols, combinations of colors or any combination of the above elements.

Service Mark is any visual sign capable of distinguishing the services of one natural person, legal person or any other organization from those of others, including words, devices, letters of numerals, three-dimensional symbols, combinations of colors or any combination of the above elements.

A collective mark refers to a mark which is registered in the name of a group, an association or any other organization and to be used by its members in their commercial activities to indicate their membership.

A certification mark refers to a mark which is controlled by an organization capable of supervision a particular type of goods or service which is used in respect of goods or services by other organizations or individuals who do not belong to the said organization, with a view to certifying the origin, raw material, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of services,quality or other characteristics of the goods or services.

Geographical indications refer to the indications that identify a particular good as originating in a region, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to its natural or human factors. Geographical indications are protected through trademark laws in China, since they can be registered as certification marks and collective marks.

It is to identify and distinguish the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others.

Trademark right depends upon ownership of a registration. Unregistered trademark is generally not protected by law. Trademark right herein merely indicates right for registered trademark.

1.Exclusive Right. The proprietor of registered trademark enjoys exclusive right to use the trademark.

2. Territorial Limit. The territorial jurisdiction of a registered trademark is mainland China.

3. Validity Limit. The term of registration is ten years as from the date of registration. It is renewable for ten-year periods if a renewal application is filed within six months prior to expiration. If a renewal application is filed within six month grace period after the date of expiration, additional official fee needs to be paid.

China implements the system of trademark registration. A registered trademark refers to trademark that has been approved and registered by Chinese Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce under the State Council. A registered trademark may include a trademark for goods, a service mark, a collective mark or a certification mark. The trademark registrants shall enjoy the exclusive right to use the trademarks, and be protected by law.

As provided in Article 8 of Chinese Trademark Law, in respect of any visual sign capable of distinguishing the goods or service of one natural person, legal entity or any other organization from that of others, including any words, numbers, lettering, devices, a combination of colors, three-dimensional design or a combination of the aforementioned elements, an application may be filed for registration. Meanwhile, it is also provided in Article 9 that any trademark in respect of which an application for registration is filed shall be so distinctive as to be distinguishable, and shall not conflict with any prior right acquired by another person.

(1) those identical with or similar to the State name, national flag, national emblem, military flag, or decorations, of the People's Republic of China; and those identical with the names of particular venues where the Central State government organizations are located, or with the names or graphs of the symbolic buildings or the Central State government organizations;

(2) those identical with or similar to the State names, national flags, national emblems or military flags of foreign countries, except that consent has been given by the relevant country’s government;

(3) those identical with or similar to the names, flags or emblems or names, of international intergovernmental organizations, except that the organizations agree otherwise on the use or that it is not easy for the use to mislead the public;

(4) those identical with or similar to official signs and hallmarks indicating control and warranty, except that the use thereof is otherwise authorized;

(5) those identical with or similar to the names or symbols of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent;

(6) those having the nature of discrimination against any nationality;

(7) those having the nature of exaggeration and fraud in advertising goods or services;

(8) those detrimental to socialist morals or customs, or having other unhealthy influences.

The geographical names as the administrative divisions at or above the county level and the foreign geographical names well-known to the public shall not be used as trademarks, but such geographical names as have otherwise meanings or as an element of a collective mark or a certification mark shall be exclusive. Where a trademark using any of the above-mentioned geographical names has been approved and registered, it shall continue to be valid.

As also provided in Article 11 of the Trademark Law, the following signs shall not be registered as trademarks:
(1) Those only comprising generic names, designs or models of the goods in respect of which the trademarks are used;

(2) Those having direct reference to the quality, main raw materials, function, use, weight, quantity or other features of the goods in respect of which the trademarks are used; and

(3) Those lacking distinctive features. The aforesaid signs may be registered as trademarks when they have acquired the distinctive features through use and become readily identifiable.

As provided in Article 12 of the Trademark Law, where a three-dimensional sign is applied for registration of a trademark, it shall not be registered if it consists exclusively of the shape which results from the nature of the goods themselves, the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result, or the shape which gives substantial value to the goods.

As also provided in Article 28 of the Trademark Law, where a trademark the registration of which has been applied for is identical with or similar to the trademark of another person that has, in respect of the same or similar goods, been registered or, after examination, preliminarily approved, the Trademark Office shall refuse the application.

1. Prior registration can preclude others from registering an identical or similar mark.

2. Registration is prima facie evidence of ownership and validity.

3. The registrant has an exclusive right to use the registered trademark and may sue for infringement and cancellation of subsequent conflicting applications and registration.

4. Registration can generate royalties through licensing.

5. Registration helps promotion of quality of goods or services.

6.Registration is beneficial to advertisement in competitive market.

Registration is not compulsory, but it is advisable. Registration of trademarks for pharmaceuticals and tobacco is mandatory.

The purpose to conduct a search is to discover whether there have been priorly registered or applied-for marks which are in conflict with the searched mark. If it is not clear, the prefiling search could have saved the applicant the cost of filing an application.

If the mark is common and/or is to be used in many countries, a prefiling search is recommended, at least in major countries, to avoid unnecessary costs entailed by adopting, developing, and filing a mark that has already been registered or applied for by someone else.

Yes. China adopts (8th Edition).

Yes. Where any applicant for registration of a trademark intends to apply the same trademark for goods or services in different classes, a separate application for registration shall be filed in respect of each class of goods or services.

An applicant must provide specimens of the mark; full details of the applicant’s name and address in both English and Chinese; a list of goods/services to be covered; and a duly signed power of attorney.

See details on Filing Requirements for Trademark Application for Registration

Where there are some designs or wordings in a trademark design that are not allowed to be registered according to items (5) and (6) under Article 8 of Chinese Trademark Law and, further, these designs or wordings are so close as to be inseparable from the trademark as a whole, and the deletion thereof will bring about great impact thereto, the applicant may disclaim the said designs or wordings.

Any natural person, legal person or other organization, intending to acquire the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods produced, manufactured, processed, selected or marketed by him or it, or for the service provided by him or it, shall file an application for the registration of the trademark or service mark with the Trademark Office.

Two or more natural persons, legal entities or other organizations may jointly file an application for the registration for the same trademark with the Trademark Office, and jointly enjoy and exercise the exclusive right to use the trademark.

The application can be cited against, or used to oppose, a subsequent conflicting application. China has adopted the first-to-file rule, and therefore any relevant, similar pending application can be officially cited against any later application, or used in opposition proceedings against such a later application.

As provided in Article 25 of Regulations for the Implementation of Trademark Law revised in 1993, to violate the principles of honesty and credit and plagiarize, counterfeit or translate any well-known trademark of another party in the registration shall be deemed as acts committed in the acquisition of a trademark registration by fraud or any other unfair means.

As provided in Article 13 of the Trademark Law revised in 2001, a trademark that is applied for registration in identical or similar goods shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited, if it is a reproduction, an imitation or a translation, of another party's well-known mark that is not registered in China and it is liable to create confusion; a trademark that is applied for registration in non-identical or dissimilar goods shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited, if it is a reproduction, an imitation or a translation, of a well-known mark which is registered in China, misleads the public, and the interests of the registrant of the well-known mark are likely to be damaged by such use.

As provided in Regulations for the Implementation of Trademark Law revised in 2002, a trademark owner who believes that the registration of its well-known trademark as an enterprise name by another person is likely to deceive or mislead the public may apply to the competent registration authorities of enterprise names for the cancellation of the registration of the enterprise name.

1. the degree of knowledge of the relative public;

2. the duration of use;

3. the duration of time, degree and geographical range of any publicity of the mark;

4. any record of the mark being protected as a well-known mark;

5. other factors which makes the mark well-known.

An application will receive a preliminary examination to determine if it complies with formal requirements and if it abides by theChinese Trademark Law and if there are earlier applications or registrations. Upon acceptance of the mark, it will be published for opposition for three months. If no opposition is filed during the period, the mark will be approved for registration and published.

In approximately three months as from the filing date.

Yes. Where two or more applicants apply for the registration of identical or similar trademarks for the same or similar goods, the preliminary approval, after examination, and the publication shall be made for the trademark which was first filed.

Yes, there is advantage of earlier use of a trademark. According to law, Where applications are filed on the same day, the preliminary approval, after examination, and the publication shall be made for the trademark which was the earliest used, and the applications of the others shall be refused and their trademarks shall not be published.

Any applicant for the registration of a mark in China who has previously duly filed an application to register the same mark in connection with the same goods in a foreign country may enjoy the right of priority in accordance with any agreement concluded between China and the foreign country concerned, or with the international treaty to which both countries are parties, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, provided that the application in China is filed within six months from the date on which the application was first filed in the foreign country.

Anyone claiming the right of priority shall state the claim in writing at the time of filing the application and shall submit, within three months, a certified copy of the original application; where the applicant fails to make the claim in writing or submit the copy of the application documents within the time limit, the claim shall be deemed not to have been made for the right of priority.

The registration process takes approximately 16 months from the filing date if it goes smoothly.

No.

Yes. When the name, address or other registered matters concerning the registrant change, an application regarding the change shall be filed.

Where the name and/or address of a trademark registrant is to be changed, the trademark registrant shall make the change in respect of all its registered trademarks in a lump; Otherwise, the application for modification shall be considered abandoned and the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing.

See details on Filing Requirements for Recording Change of Proprietor's Name/Address

When a trademark the registration of which has been applied for is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of Chinese Trademark Law, or it is identical with or similar to another party's trademark that has, in respect of the same or similar goods, been registered or, after examination, preliminarily approved, the Trademark Office shall refuse the application and shall not publish the said trademark.

After preliminary approval, the application will be published on Chinese Trademark Gazette with the provisional number, filing date; trademark as filed; designated goods or services; applicant's name and address and its agent. Publication takes around twelve months from the date of filing.

Any person may, within three months from the date of the publication, file an opposition against the trademark that has, after examination, been preliminarily approved.

See details on Filing Requirements for Opposition

Where the application for registration of a trademark is refused and no publication of the trademark is made, the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant of the same in writing. Where any party concerned is dissatisfied, he or it may, within fifteen days from receipt of the notification, apply for a review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, which shall make a decision and notify the applicant of the same in writing.

No extension of time is available.

It takes approximately two years for the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make a decision.

See details on Filing Requirements for Review on Refusal of Trademark Application for Registration

When an opposition is filed, the Trademark Office shall hear both the opponent and the opposed state facts and grounds, and shall, after investigation and verification, make a ruling. When any party concerned is dissatisfied, he or it may, within fifteen days from receipt of the notification, apply for a review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, which shall make a ruling and notify both the opponent and the opposed in writing.

No extension of time is available.

It takes approximately two years for the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make a decision.

See details on Filing Requirements for Review on Decision of Trademark Opposition

Ten years, counted from the date of approval of the registration.

An application for renewal of the registration shall be made within six months before expiration of the period of validity. Where no application therefor has been filed within the said period, a grace period of six months may be allowed, yet extra fees shall be charged for the delay of renewal. If no application has been filed at the expiration of the grace period, the registered trademark shall be cancelled.

An application to renew a registration should be submitted along with a signed power of attorney and five specimens of the mark.

See details on Filing Requirements for Renewing Trademark Registration

Yes, both a registration or a pending application can be assigned.

The assignor and assignee shall sign an agreement for the assignment and jointly file an application with the Trademark Office. The assignee shall guarantee the quality of the goods in respect of which the registered trademark is used. Actually, the assignee handles assignment with the Trademark Office.

Yes. An assignment of registration must be recorded and approved by the Trademark Office. Failure to apply for approval of an assignment does not jeopardize the validity of the registration.

No. The assignment may be either with or without goodwill.

See details on Filing Requirements for Recording Assignment of Application/Registration

A registration can be licensed. According to Chinese Trademark law, any trademark registrant may, by signing a trademark license contract, authorize other persons to use his or its registered trademark. The licensor shall supervise the quality of the goods in respect of which the licensee uses his registered trademark, and the licensee shall guarantee the quality of the goods in respect of which the registered trademark is used.

Where any party is authorized to use a registered trademark of another party, the name of the licensee and the origin of the goods must be indicated on the goods that bear the registered trademark.

Yes. A license agreement shall be recorded with the Trademark Office within three months since its execution.

See details on Filing Requirements for Recordal of Trademark License Agreement

Where a registered trademark stands in violation of the provisions of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of Chinese Trademark Law, or the registration of a trademark was acquired by fraud or any other unfair means, the Trademark Office shall cancel the registered trademark in question; and any other organization or individual may request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make an adjudication to cancel such a registered trademark.

Where a registered trademark stands in violation of the provisions of Articles 13, 15, 16 and 31 of the Trademark Law, the owner of the mark or any interested party may, within five years from the date of registration, request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make an adjudication to cancel such a registered trademark. Where a registration was obtained in bad faith, the owner of a well-known trademark shall not be bound by the five-year limitation.

A prior registrant disputing a registered trademark may, within five years from the date of the approval of the trademark registration, apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for adjudication.

The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall, after receipt of the application for adjudication, notify the parties concerned and request them to respond with arguments within a specified period.

After the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has made an adjudication either to maintain or to cancel a registered trademark, it shall notify the parties concerned of the same in writing.

Where any party concerned is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, he or it may, within thirty days from receipt of the notice, institute legal proceedings in the People's Court. The People's Court shall notify the other party in the trademark adjudication proceeding to be a third party to the litigation.

The use of a trademark shall include the use of the trademark on goods, packages or containers of the goods or in trading documents, and the use of the trademark in advertising, exhibition or any other business activities.

A mark that has not been used for three consecutive years after registration is vulnerable to cancellation.

Any party concerned dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Office to cancel a registered trademark may, within fifteen days from receipt of the corresponding notice, apply for a review with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, which shall make a decision and notify the applicant in writing.

Where any interested party dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, he or it may, within 30 days from receipt of the notice, institute legal proceedings in the People's Court.

See details on Filing Requirements for Review on Decision of Cancellation of Registration

Any of the following acts shall be an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark:

(1) using a trademark that is identical with or similar to a registered trademark in respect of the same or similar goodswithout the authorization from the trademark registrant;

(2) selling goods that infringe the exclusive right to use a registered trademark;

(3) counterfeiting, or making, without authorization, representations of a registered trademark of another person, or selling such representations of a registered trademark as were counterfeited, or made without authorization;

(4) replacing another party's registered trademark, without authorization, and selling goods bearing such a replaced trademark;

(5) using any signs which are identical or similar to another person's registered trademark as the name of the goods or decoration of the goods on the same or similar goods, thus misleading the public;

(6) intentionally providing facilities such as storage, transport, mailing, concealing, etc. for the purpose of infringing another person's exclusive right to use a registered trademark.

Protection of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark can be achieved through both administrative means and judicial means.

Where any party has committed trademark infringement, the interested party can complain, usually through an entrusted agent, to local Administration for Industry and Commerce at or above county level ("AIC"), requiring the AIC to take enforcement actions. The complaints shall be put in the written form usually, noting relevant information and evidence, such as the name, address of the infringer, the place where the infringement took place or was found, and relevant marks which are suspected to have infringed registered trademarks or stuff like photos and so on. Once the AIC decides to deal with the case, it shall make an administrative decision and notify the complaint of it. If the case is so serious as to constitute a crime, it shall be transferred to the judicial authority for handling. Where any interested party is dissatisfied with the AIC's decision on handling the infrigement, it or he may, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice, institute legal proceedings in the People's Court according to the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China. If there have been instituted no legal proceedings or made on performance of the decision at the expiration of the said period, the AIC shall request the People's Court for compulsory execution thereof.

The interested party may also institute legal proceedings in the People's Court directly, and the court will protect the legitimate rights and interests of the right owner according to the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China.