China trademarks · For overseas brands
I file Chinese trademarks for overseas brands and deal with what follows: refusals, squatters, copies on Chinese platforms and disputes in court. The same lawyer handles the application and, if it comes to it, the litigation.
Open the part that matches your question. Each section is complete on its own.
A China filing starts with a clearance search in each class you care about. Chinese examiners compare marks within sub-classes (类似群), so the search and the list of goods follow the Chinese sub-class system. Picking items from the standard Chinese list avoids refusals over wording.
Budget usually decides the order. Core classes for the products you sell or make now come first. Classes for planned products and defensive items follow in a second batch. A short, attractive word is often the hardest to register, so I usually suggest filing a combined mark or the full name first and treating the short word as a separate decision.
The application is examined, and if approved it is published. During publication others may oppose it. If there is no opposition, the mark is registered. If the examiner refuses some items, a review can be requested within the time limit on the refusal notice.
China registers the first applicant. Use and fame outside China count for very little, as the Supreme People's Court confirmed in the STAPLE ruling. The routes that remain depend on who filed and why.
If the squatter's application is still being published, an opposition is the cheapest route. Under the revised Trademark Law in force from 1 January 2027 the window is two months from publication (currently three months).
If the registration is more than three years old and the owner has not used it, anyone may apply to cancel it. The owner then has to prove use. This is slow and depends on the owner's evidence, so I run it alongside your own filing.
Sometimes paying is quicker. It also rewards the practice and may leave other filings by the same group in place. I compare the cost and timing of each route before recommending one.
Enforcement in China runs on evidence and on a registration in the right sub-class. The steps below are usually combined.
The same approach applies when a local business puts your brand in its company name. See that case.
Overseas brands are sometimes the target: a Chinese registrant sues the distributor, the factory or the platform seller. Three defences come up most often.
Goods made in China for export can also be caught. The Supreme People's Court held in the HONDAKIT case that export-only OEM production can infringe a Chinese registration.
China's Trademark Law was revised on 26 June 2026. The new law takes effect on 1 January 2027, renumbers every article, and keeps existing registrations valid. The changes that matter most to overseas brands:
| Work | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Clearance search | Identical and similar marks in the relevant Chinese sub-classes, with a written risk rating | USD 300 per mark per class |
| Filing | Class and item selection, filing documents and the CNIPA application | From USD 600 per class, plus official fees |
| Refusal review, opposition, invalidation, non-use cancellation | Evidence plan, filing and follow-up | Quoted after reviewing the documents |
| Enforcement | Evidence capture, platform and administrative complaints, customs recording, litigation | Quoted after reviewing the documents |
Fees are the same for clients in every country. Scope, fee and timetable are agreed in writing before paid work begins.
Shown with the clients' consent. The applicant, address, application number, dates, barcode, the mark itself and the agency details have been removed.
Filing projects I have completed. Names, marks, products and dates have been removed or changed, and some facts have been combined. They show the type of work involved and do not promise any outcome.
An overseas sports-technology team wanted an English word mark for a sensor-based training accessory and its app. The search showed the word described the product's function and shared its core with earlier marks in the key hardware classes. I rated the risks, ranked the core, use-setting and sales classes, and recommended a combined mark with a distinctive element plus an invented back-up name.
A direct-to-consumer brand wanted one English mark across personal care, wearable accessories, air-treatment devices, household tools and clothing. I mapped each product to its Chinese class and sub-class, searched each, and split the plan into items to file now, items to adjust and items needing a clearance plan, so the client could file in batches within budget.
A foreign manufacturer wanted to protect a combined logo, its full English name, a short core word and a Chinese transliteration. The short word met close earlier marks in fabrication, engineering design and promotion. The combined mark and full name went first in the two core classes, with the scope fixed class by class in a written confirmation before filing.
Examination usually takes several months. If the mark is approved for publication and nobody opposes it, the registration follows once the publication period ends. A partial refusal, a review or an opposition adds time, so file well before you need the registration.
The law doesn't require one. In practice Chinese buyers, platforms and distributors will give your brand a Chinese name whether you choose one or not. Choosing and registering the name you want is much cheaper than recovering one someone else has registered.
Yes. A direct Chinese filing lets you use the standard Chinese descriptions of goods and services from the start, which reduces refusals over wording and makes later enforcement simpler. I usually recommend a direct filing for the core classes.
Chinese law gives a specific ground against an agent, representative or business partner who registers a brand it knew belonged to you. It is usually raised by opposition during publication or by an invalidation request. Emails, contracts, orders and samples that show the relationship are the key evidence.
No. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan each keep their own trademark registers. A mainland filing protects the mark in mainland China only.
A clearance search is USD 300 per mark per class. Filing starts at USD 600 per class, plus official fees. Oppositions, invalidations, non-use cancellations and enforcement are quoted after I have seen the documents, because the work depends on the evidence.
English or Chinese. A short, non-confidential summary is enough to start.