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Check your brand for China before you file — or before someone else does

China is first-to-file: the first person to file owns the mark, not the first person to use it. Six questions tell you where you stand; then we hand you the exact register to search, with your brand name already copied.

Two minutes here, and you will know exactly where your brand stands in China. We go through it with you, step by step: (1) six questions show where you are exposed under China's first-to-file system — each one explains itself the moment you answer; (2) then we walk you straight into the registers that hold the data, your brand name already copied, one paste away from the answer. If the search turns up something you want a second opinion on, we are still with you — an IP agent picks it up from exactly where you stopped. The one thing we hand to a professional rather than guess at is whether a mark is registrable: that is a legal opinion, and it belongs to a qualified agent.

01 Start here: your brand name

Why this step — Find out whether your name is already taken in China. That one answer decides what everything below is worth.

Three registers hold the data — WIPO, China's IP office and a commercial database — and we take you to all three. Tell us the name once, we copy it for you, and each one is one click and one paste away.

  1. Type the name exactly as you want it protected
  2. Open a register below — we copy the name as it opens
  3. Paste it into that site's search box and search

Check every form separately — English, Chinese characters, pinyin and the logo each count as a different mark.

WIPO Global Brand Database

English · free · no login · covers China data

Start here for a fully English search. WIPO recommends checking the national office as well — no single database is complete on its own.

Copy & open WIPO

CNIPA — official English site

English · free · official

China's IP administration in English — the right place to confirm the rules and to reach the trademark search. Be aware the search system behind it is Chinese-only with a captcha, and is often slow to load from abroad: that is precisely why many people pay an agent to run the search for them.

Copy & open CNIPA

QCC (QiChaCha) trademarks

Chinese · free tier · login for detail

Commercial platform, faster to load and easier to browse similar marks. Good for a second opinion on near-identical names; not an official source.

Copy & open QCC

These are the registers professionals search every day — free, and without sign-up. If one is slow or unreachable from your country, hand that one to an agent and move on.

02 Six questions: where does your brand actually stand?

Why this step — See which of the six classic risks you are exposed to right now, before you spend anything on filing.

About two minutes. Answer as many as you know, in any order — each one explains itself the moment you pick it, and your risk picture is available at any point.

Answered 0 of 6

1. Is your brand already selling, exhibiting or online in China?
Using a mark publicly without filing is the classic way to lose it: anyone who saw you at a fair or on a marketplace can file ahead of you. Prior use only helps as a defence if your mark already has real influence in China — do not rely on it.
You have time, and time is the whole advantage here. File before you print packaging, open a store or list on a marketplace — filing takes weeks, losing the name takes one day.
Low exposure today. If China is on the roadmap, filing early still costs far less than buying your own name back later.
2. Does your brand have a Chinese name, and who created it?
The most common script in China: the local partner registers your Chinese name in their own company. When you change partner, the brand stays with them. Check the register today and, if it is theirs, get advice before you negotiate.
Good instinct, unfinished work. The name you use in China is the name customers search for — an unregistered one is free for anyone to take.
Correct owner, correct order. Keep the registration certificate and diarise renewal every ten years.
3. Have you filed a Madrid System mark designating China?
A common and expensive misunderstanding. Extending to China is not the same as being granted rights in China: the Chinese office examines it independently and can refuse it. Check the status of the designation, do not assume.
Right expectation. Watch for a refusal from the Chinese office — it has its own deadline to answer, and missing it ends the protection.
Fine. If you later file through Madrid, treat each designated country as its own examination, not a rubber stamp.
4. What kind of name is it?
Marks that simply describe the goods, or name a place, are frequently refused for lacking distinctiveness — and even if registered, they are hard to enforce against similar names. Consider adding a distinctive element.
Arbitrary use of a real word is usually registrable and much easier to defend than a descriptive one.
Coined marks are the strongest position: easiest to register and easiest to stop others copying.
5. Do you plan to register only the English form?
An English registration does not stop a Chinese-character mark that consumers actually read as your brand. Chinese buyers, marketplaces and courts look at the name in use — if that is Chinese, protect the Chinese.
Most of the exposure is covered. Pinyin and logo remain open for someone else, which is usually cheaper to file now than to fight later.
Complete approach. Each form is a separate application and a separate fee — that is expected, not a mistake.
6. Are you filing only the class you trade in today?
Rights exist only in the classes you file. Someone can register your name in a related class and block your expansion — or sell you that name. Note each class covers a limited number of items, so the list matters as much as the class.
Reasonable middle ground. Check that the adjacent classes cover where you realistically plan to be in two years.
Sensible coverage. Keep an eye on new classes as the business moves — a mark filed later is a mark filed second.

03 Which class do you file in?

Why this step — Set the scope of your protection. Rights exist only in the classes you file, so this is the decision that decides what you actually own.

China uses the 45-class Nice Classification. Rights exist only in the classes you file — and each class covers a limited number of items, so the item list matters as much as the class itself.

Class numbers follow the Nice Classification. Which items to list inside a class, and how many classes you actually need, is a judgement call — an agent will usually ask what you sell today and what you plan to sell next.

04 What to file — and what to have ready

Why this step — Turn the decision into a to-do list: which forms to file, and what your agent will ask you for.

Forms to consider (tick as you go)

Documents typically required

Bring this list to your agent — they confirm the exact set for your applicant type and your mark, and catch anything else your case needs.

05 What happens after you file

Why this step — Know how long it takes and where it can stall, so a wait of months never feels like something went wrong.

The route from application to registration — with the two points where it can be interrupted.

  1. File the application Day 0
    Through your Chinese agent. Official fee: CNY 270 per class for online filing (CNY 300 on paper), covering 10 items in that class, with a small surcharge per extra item.
  2. Formal examination about 1 month
    The office checks the paperwork. Incomplete filing means a notice to correct, not a refusal.
  3. Substantive examination about 4 months
    Examined against earlier marks and for distinctiveness. Refusal possible — there is a deadline to respond, and missing it ends the application.
  4. Preliminary approval and publication 3 months
    Published for opposition. A three-month window in which earlier right holders may object (Trademark Law, Article 33).
  5. Registration about 7 months total
    Certificate issued. From then on you may use ®. Protection runs ten years and is renewed on application.

Timing is the official working figure: examination around four months and registration around seven months in total (Trademark Office reply, 20 October 2025; State Council Information Office, 23 January 2026: average examination period steady at four months). Individual cases run longer, and an opposition or refusal adds months. Verified 2026-09-25.

06 The rules that decide most cases

Why this step — Understand why it works this way. Once first-to-file clicks, every decision above starts to make sense.

First-to-file, not first-to-use

China grants the mark to whoever files first. Using a brand first does not by itself give you rights.

Earlier use, a prior right, or the other party's bad faith can be raised as arguments — but the burden of proof is on you and the threshold is high. Treat filing as the act that protects you.

45 classes, limited items each

Rights cover only the classes and the items you listed. Each class covers a limited number of items; more items cost more.

Filing the class you sell in today leaves adjacent classes open to someone else — including the person who later sells you your own name.

™ and ® mean different things

™ is a claim you are using something as a mark. ® means it has actually been granted.

Using ® before registration can be treated as a misleading representation. ™ is the safe form until the certificate arrives.

If someone already registered your name

The routes are: opposition during the publication window; invalidation after registration; cancellation for three years of continuous non-use; or buying it back.

Each has its own conditions, deadlines and evidence. Which one fits is a legal judgement — we describe the routes, an agent tells you which is yours.

Want someone else to run the search and file it properly?

We work with IP agents who handle clearance searches, class strategy and filing in China. Send your brand name and the risk picture from this page — it reaches them with the context already attached.

Ask an IP agent

Every figure and rule on this page was verified on 25 September 2026 against the sources named here. Whether your mark is registrable, and in which classes, is the call you make with your agent — that part is worth a professional opinion, and we will introduce you to one.