Quick Guide To China IP Protection - Trademark Edition

With so many changes in recent months and years in China, an updated quick reference for navigating the country's intellectual property landscape is needed. Below is the Quick Guide on trademarks in China. Look our for our guides to patents, copyrights, and other IP considerations soon. More questions? Contact our Senior Counsel, Brandy Baker at [email protected].

Trademark Filing and Registration

When and how should you file your trademark in China?

The short answer is to file soon and file broadly.

China is a "first-to-file" jurisdiction which means that generally, the first party to register a mark will have priority to use that mark. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but it is easier to file early and avoid the uphill battle to invalidating or opposing problematic marks filed by third parties. The first-to-file system has led to a lot of issues with bad faith filing in China, but is also a system that can be used to a brand owner's advantage