China Trademark Registration
Hotline: 86-755-82143422,email: anitayao@citilinkia.com
China trademark registration is filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China. Protecting your trademark in China requires first and foremost that you register your trademark in China. The Chinese trademark law system is different from the U.S. federal trademark law system. The Chinese Trademark Law provides: "Any natural person, legal entity or other organization intending to acquire the exclusive right to use a trademark, including service mark, shall file an application for the registration of the trademark with the Trademark Office".
Advantages of Registering A Trademark in China
If you are doing business in or with China you should give serious thought to registering your trademarks in China. In particular, you should consider a China trademark registration for your trade-name, your logo and your service marks. Without trademark protection, someone else can register “your” trademark and then prevent you from using it. This is true even if you are not conducting any sales in China. In addition to the legal benefits of adding an extra layer of protection to your brand by registering it in Chinese, there are also numerous commercial benefits to it. More often than not, local consumers are simply not used to foreign brand names.
As the Chinese market becomes more open and dynamic, the strategic use of trademarks by businesses operating in China and beyond will become ever more important. We trust that as the legal framework for trademarks continues to evolve and improve, increasing numbers of foreign enterprises will start and develop their business in China. This will enable them to participate in China’s economic development, share in the fruits of the country’s economic growth and the on-going and deepening process of reform.
China Trademark Registration Principles
China’s Trademark Law adopts the first to file principle, which grants exclusive trademark rights to the party that applies to register the mark first in China. Article 59(3) of the Trademark Law explicitly stipulates an exception to the principle of trademark registration, namely the prior user rights, which reads ‘Where an identical or similar trademark has been used in connection with the same goods or similar goods by others before the registrant’s application, the exclusive right holder of the said registered trademark shall have no right to prohibit prior users from using the aforesaid trademark from continuous use of such trademark within the original scope, but may request its prior users to add proper marks for distinction.’
Required Information From Applicant
For obtainment of the date of filing, your trademark application should contain:
1. A representation of the trademark；
2. A list of goods and services；
3. The applicant (s) details；
4. Power of Attorney (Note: The signed Power of Attorney is sufficient. The copy of the form should be provided simultaneously with the filing of the trademark application in China).
General Registration Procedures
1. Check the availability of your candidate.
2. Prepare all documents and application forms.
3. Sign all forms, before submitting to CTO.
4. A formality check is conducted by the SAIC.
(State Administration of Industry & Commerce of the People's Republic of China).
5. A notice of first approval is delivered by the SAIC.
6. A substantive examination of your chosen candidate is conducted.
7. The CTO formally approves and publishes the trademark.
8. You receive the approval certificate by postal mail.
The whole registration process takes approximately 24 - 36 months.
Validity and Renewal
The period of validity of a registered trademark shall be 10 years, counted from the date of approval of the registration. Where the trademark registrant intends to continue to use the registered trademark beyond the expiration of the period of validity, an application for renewal of the registration shall be made within 6 months before the said expiration. Where no application therefore has been filed within the said period, a grace period of 6 months may be allowed, yet extra fees shall be charged for the delay of renewal.
If no renewal application has been filed at the expiration the grace period, the registered trademark shall be canceled. The period of validity of each renewal of registration shall be 10 years.
Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to 2355725093@qq.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.