Brief Introduction to China Trademark Registration System

China Trade Mark Office (CTMO).

Applicants need to apply for registration with the Trademark Office of the National Intellectual Property Administration and obtain trademark rights after examination and approval. The China Trademark Office used to be managed by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. After its reorganization in2018, China’s patents, designs, trademarks, geographical indications of origin, and integrated circuit layout designs are all managed by the NationalIntellectual Property Administration, (CNIPA).

Paris convention; Madrid Agreement; Madrid Protocol

China adopts "first-to-file" for trademark protection, and the Trademark Law of China mainly protects the registered trademarks.

If a registered trademark is used by someone else without authorization and/or license, the trademark owner can simply take an infringement action.

For unregistered trademarks, if it has been applied for registration in bad-faith by someone else, the original trademark owner can raise opposition against the bad-faith application, but without the right to bring litigation.

Further, if an unregistered well-known trademark is used by someone else without authorization and/or license, and causes misleading, the original trademark owner can raise court action under the Law Against Unfair Competition.

In China, the term “trademark” includes merely word mark, figurative mark, 3D mark, color combinations mark and sounds mark, etc., as well as combinations of the above elements.

In addition, there are special trademarks are enacted and protected, such as “certification mark” and “collective trademark”.

• Applicant’s name, address, nationality/company’s registered country;

• Copy of the Applicant’s Identical Document;

• Specimens of the mark to be applied;

• List of goods/services to be applied, and the class(es);

• Translation& transliteration of foreign language in the mark;

• A simply signed Power of Attorney; and

• Priority documents, if any.

   

If an application goes smoothly, the whole registration procedure takes about 12-18 months.

A trademark application in China usually takes about 6-8 months for examination, if there is no refusal, it will then publish for 3 months for opposition purposes. If no opposition is filed, a registration certificate will be issued within 1-2 months after the end of the publication.

A trademark registration in China is valid for 10 years from the date of registration, which can be renewed every 10 years, from 12 months before the renewal due date or up to 6 months after the date expires.

If a registered trademark has not been actual used in China by the owner or with his consent, in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered, for a continuous period of at least 3 years, any third party can apply for revocation to cancel/remove the registration.

Attachment: Simplified diagram of China trademark registration procedure