Apply for trademark in china

Register your trademark in China. How to register your trademark in China? Does OEM business need to file trademark in China? How can I get a trademark online?

What is the trademark classification system in China?

Applying for a trademark is a crucial and an important step that’s often ignored or overlooked by exporters. You won’t, unless you register the trademark first. The answer to this question depends on the characteristics of your mark, your budget and the scope of protection that you would like to have in China. In principle it is possible in China as well as everywhere else to apply for a national trademark. If you already have a basic trademark registered in Germany you can also use the method of applying via WIPO ( World Intellectual Property Organization ). Requests to renew must be filed within months prior dates of expiration.

The Chinese government allows a grace period of months.

A request to renew the registration must be filed within twelve months prior to the date of expiration. Trademark registration in China. A grace period of six months is allowed by paying a corresponding surcharge. As soon as your trademark is file we will send you a filing report that will include the application number and date, plus a scanned copy of the filed trademark application. A trademark may be renewed each time for a period of ten years.

There are altogether classes of trademarks in China. You have to submit your application for at least one of the classes. If you are entitled to claim priority registration, you have to submit your letter of priority, with the proper translation, together with the application.

As a business thinking about entering the Chinese market, you need to research and understand which companies, businesses and brands are active in the Chinese market and understand trade mark enforcement in China. To help Australian businesses we have created content to help you understand. Apply online (TEAS) File a trademark application and other documents online through TEAS. Apply for registration is the first step to protect your trademark rights in China, because China adopts principle of “first to file”, it’s quite different to the principle of “first to use” which adopted in other countries.

The “first to file” rule is applicable in China. Classes – the Chinese trademark system requires a separate trademark filing for each class of goods or services you want covered. No evidence of use is required upon filing of a trademark application.

Thus, the extension of an international registration of a trademark via the Madrid System is possible for this country.

China is also a member state to the Madrid Protocol. The trademark registration order for China includes the following tasks: First, we check whether the trademark being registered is entitled to protection in China (absolute grounds of refusal). Not all trademarks can be registered as trademarks.

For instance, merely descriptive terms for the respective goods and services may not be registered as a trademark. To avoid collisions between your trademark registration in China and older trademarks we recommend to conduct a trademark search in. For each product, the name of the product, a brief description of the product ( in Chinese, of course), and a photo clearly showing the product. However, in practice, a Chinese natural person is not qualified to apply for or own a registered mark, unless he or she owns his or her own business.

For the nationals of a member State of the Madrid Agreement, the application must be based on a registered trademark. Based on our data, moving forward with a Chinese trademark application makes sense, even if it will take rather a long time before the trademark is secured. The China market is a rare one where speed is valuable but the rewards of patience are gold. You can apply for a trade mark in China using the Madrid Protocol.

You can also use the Madrid protocol to apply to multiple countries at once. You need to have an identical Australian trade mark application or registration to use the Madrid protocol.