LegalFly IP：
Register Chinese Trademark!

About the Author. Mark Xu, Chinese trademark lawyer, founder of LegalFly IP, Master Degree of International Law of Law School of Nanjing University (QS top 100, Chinese Mainland top 5). 8-year experience of trademark service, successfully registered 1,000+ trademarks for domestic and foreign clients.

WhatsApp: +86-167-8881-8032; E-mail: markxu@legalflyip.com

 

I. Who Needs to Register Chinese Trademark and the Importance?

There are two kinds of company or natural person needs to register Chinese trademark:

l Products are sold in China. On one hand, Chinese trademark is the precondition that the products can be put into market for sale, and Chinese distributors, such as supermarkets and conveniences stores require the products are registered as brand of Chinese trademark; on the other hand, Chinese trademark protects the legitimate owner of the brand when it has been infringed by fake and imitated products.

l Products are produced/manufactured in China. The typical example is OEM. On one hand, (1) trademark is the precondition that Chinese factory can legally produce/manufacture the products, and (2) the worst circumstance is, if the brand is registered by others as Chinese trademark, that party are entitled to stop the production/manufacture; on the other hand, trademark is the precondition for goods’ passing Chinese Customs, (1) Chinese Customs initially checks goods and require the submission of Chinese trademark, and (2) Chinese Customs checks goods and require the submission of Chinese trademark under the requirement of the trademark holder if the brand is registered by others as Chinese trademark, no matter which circumstance, the goods will be detained by Chinese Customs, which will cause great loss.

 

II. Legal Documents Required for Registering Chinese Trademark.

There are two legal documents required for registering Chinese trademark:

l Identity document. For company, Business License/Certificate of Incorporation is required; for natural person, passport is required.

l Power of Attorney. We provide Power of Attorney for your company’s seal or natural person’s signature.

 

III. Registration Content.

l Brand name. Brand name is very important! Usually, brand name is a word, which must be applied for registration as Chinese trademark.

l Logo. Usually, logo is a picture, which must be applied for registration as Chinese trademark. When apply for Chinese trademark for logo, the point needs to be paid attention to is, it is better to register black-and-white logo, instead of colored logo. The reason is, when apply for black-and-white logo, when successfully registered, it can be used by any color randomly; contrarily, if apply for colored logo, when successfully registered, it can only be used in the color registered.

 

IV. Products/Service to be Registered.

Before starting applying for Chinese trademark, it is important to choose right class for your products and/or services.

According to NICE Classification, trademarks are divided into 45 classes, in which, Class 1-34 are product trademark, and Class 35-45 are service trademark. Chinese trademark registration also applies NICE Classification.

Each trademark can only be registered in one class, and each trademark has at least 10 items.

For example, if your product is carpet, then you should choose Class 27, and choose the item ‘carpet’.

For example, if your service is advertising service, then you should choose Class 35, and choose the item ‘advertising’.

We can help you check and choose right class.

 

V. Fees for Registering Chinese Trademark.

The normal market price for registering Chinese trademark is USD300-600 per trademark, which differs by each trademark lawyer or trademark agency company. Our price is USD349 per trademark. Please must be noted, if the offer price is obviously too low, it is usually unreliable and not trustworthy.

 

VI. Detailed Procedures for Registering Chinese Trademark.

Overall, we can get result in 4-6 months, and get Trademark Certificate in 8-10 months, and the trademark right is 10 years.

Hereunder are the concrete detailed procedures:

l Step 1: Preparing Business License/Certificate of Incorporation, and Power of Attorney;

l Step 2: We submit application documents to China Trademark Office in 1-2 working days;

l Step 3: China Trademark Office makes form examination in 1 month, and we will receive Acceptance Notice when it passes form examination;

l Step 4: China Trademark Office makes substantive examination in 3-5 months;

l Step 5: If China Trademark Office approves the registration application, it will enter 3-month Announcement Period;

l Step 6: After the Announcement Period, China Trademark Office issues PDF Trademark Certificate in 1 month.

 

VII. Conclusion.

Registering Chinese trademark is a complex and strategic legal service, which requires sufficient knowledge of Chinese trademark law. It is a good choice that you resort to expert in this field, and we are willing to help you.

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