Sample China Brand Filing Strategy: What You Receive

CHINA BRAND FILING STRATEGY

Client	An overseas brand owner. Name withheld.
Mark	[MARK], an invented English word. There is also a logo and a planned Chinese name.
Products	Bicycle lights and a companion app. Cycling clothing may follow.
Made and sold	Made in China for export. Online sales in China are planned within a year.
Scope	Clearance search for the word mark in two principal classes, class and sub-class selection, Chinese-name advice, defensive filing advice and a filing budget.

1. Decisions for you

Decision	Recommendation	Condition
What to file first	The word mark [MARK] in Class 11 and Class 9, in one application	File now. The factory already makes the lights under your brand.
The logo	File it as a separate mark once it is final	The logo has changed twice. Filing an unfinished design wastes the fee.
The Chinese name	Choose one now and file it in Class 11	Pick from the two options in section 5, after a search.
Class 12 and Class 25	A second batch, within six months	File only goods you sell or plan to sell. The law refuses bad-faith filings made with no intent to use (Trademark Law art. 4), and the revised law from 2027 is stricter.
Watching	Watch new applications for similar marks after you file	It gives you time to oppose them during publication, the period when objections can be filed.

2. What you told me

• Confirmed You sell bicycle lights now. The app pairs with the lights and shows riding data.
• Confirmed A Chinese factory makes the lights under your brand for export.
• To confirm: the date You plan to sell in China through an online store within a year.
• To confirm: no date yet You may add cycling clothing.

Each recommendation depends on these facts. Please correct anything that is wrong.

3. Search results

I searched the Chinese trademark office database for identical and similar marks. Chinese examiners compare marks within sub-classes, which are groups of similar goods inside each class. The full search covered Classes 11 and 9. Classes 12 and 25 were screened only.

Class and group	Closest earlier mark	Status	Risk	Comment
Class 11, lighting	A mark sharing the first four letters, for lamps	Registered	Medium	The endings differ in sound and look. An examiner may still compare the shared start. Filing a distinctive logo as well lowers the risk.
Class 9, software and data devices	None close enough to block	None	Low	Clear in this group at the search date.
Class 12, bicycle parts (screening only)	The word appears inside a longer mark for bicycles	Pending	Medium	Depends on whether the longer mark is read as a whole. Watch its examination.
Class 25, clothing (screening only)	An identical word mark	Registered	High	The same word is likely to be refused here. Consider a combined mark. Or check whether the earlier mark is in use. A mark not used for three years in a row without good reason can be cancelled (art. 49).

4. Can the word be registered?

[MARK] is an invented word. It does not describe the products, so it should pass the distinctiveness test (Trademark Law art. 11 bars marks that only describe the goods). The planned tagline "[MARK] Light" adds a descriptive word. File the word on its own, so your protection does not depend on the tagline.

5. The Chinese name

Chinese buyers and platforms will give your brand a Chinese name anyway. It is cheaper to choose one and register it.

• Option A: a transliteration, a Chinese name that sounds like [MARK]. It is easy to link to the English brand. Several sound-alike characters exist, so others may file variants.
• Option B: a name based on meaning, such as "bright ride". Chinese buyers remember it easily. It is harder to link to the English mark in a dispute.

Recommendation. Option A, after a search in Class 11. Have a native speaker check each character for unwanted meanings.

6. Filing plan and budget

Batch	What	Classes	Fee in USD	When
1	Word mark [MARK]	11 and 9, one application	1,100 (600 + 500)	Now
1	Search for the Chinese name	11	300	Now
1	Chinese name, Option A	11	600	Now, after its search
2	Word mark [MARK]	12	600	Within six months
2	Logo	11	600	When final
Later	Class 25	25	Quoted after the use check	When clothing is planned

Fees follow the published prices at the date of this plan. Filing is USD 600 for the first class and USD 500 for each further class in the same application. Each class covers up to 10 goods or services, and official fees are included. Each item over 10 costs USD 30.

7. Risks to watch

• First to file. China registers the first applicant (Trademark Law art. 31). Use or fame outside mainland China counts for very little.
• Export-only production. Goods made in China for export under your brand can still infringe a Chinese registration someone else holds. So the factory country matters even before you sell there.
• The factory itself. A manufacturer that knows your brand may file it. If an agent or business partner files your brand, Chinese law gives a specific ground to oppose it (art. 15). Keep contracts, orders and emails that show the relationship.
• The 2027 law. The revised Trademark Law (in Chinese) takes effect on 1 January 2027. The time to oppose a published mark falls from three months to two. Act quickly on watch alerts.

8. Limits of this plan

The search is a snapshot at the search date. Applications filed in recent months may not appear in the database yet. A search lowers the risk of refusal. It does not guarantee registration. Trademarks in other countries are for your local lawyer. I can give them the Chinese filing details they need.

Appendix: legal sources

Trademark Law of the PRC (2019 amendment), arts. 4, 11, 15, 30, 31 and 49. Revised Trademark Law (2026), in force from 1 January 2027: arts. 19, 17, 22, 20, 35 and 57. Translations are mine and unofficial.