Service 06 — IP services
First to file, not first to use. We clear, file and defend trademarks, patents and copyright so the name you built abroad is still yours here.
Typical filing
A filing receipt is issued quickly; the ™ symbol may be used from filing, ® only after registration.
China receives more trademark applications than any other jurisdiction, and a meaningful share are filed in bad faith against brands that have not yet arrived. Filing early is not bureaucracy — it is the only defence that costs almost nothing.
A Chinese trademark is territorial. Your EU or US registration is invisible here, and a Chinese distributor who registers your mark in their own name can, in the worst case, stop you importing your own product. The remedy exists, but it takes a year and costs more than the filing would have.
We handle the filing, but we spend more time on the two decisions that determine whether it was worth doing: which classes actually cover your business three years from now, and how the Chinese transliteration of your mark will be read by an examiner and by a consumer. Both are choices, and both are hard to change later.
Bad-faith filings
If your mark is already registered by someone else, the routes are opposition (within three months of publication), invalidation on bad-faith grounds, or non-use cancellation after three years. Each has a different cost and success rate; we will tell you which applies.
Engaged individually or as a portfolio programme with an annual watch and renewal calendar.
China is first-to-file: the earlier applicant owns the mark, regardless of who used it first abroad. We run a clearance search, file in the right classes, and manage examination, opposition and registration.
For groups standardising a global portfolio, we file through the Madrid system designating China, or file directly in China first and extend abroad through Madrid from the Chinese base application.
Invention, utility model and design patents, drafted with an eye on both grant and enforceability. We coordinate technical disclosure with your engineers and manage the annuity calendar afterwards.
Software copyright registration, works registration, and a realistic enforcement plan: monitoring, platform takedowns, customs recordal, administrative complaints and civil action where the value justifies it.
Statutory periods, not promises. Where an application is opposed or refused, the timeline extends and we tell you at that point, not at the end.
| Filing type | Typical duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark — filing to acceptance | 1–2 weeks | Filing receipt issued, mark usable with ™ |
| Trademark — examination | 4–6 months | Absolute and relative grounds review |
| Trademark — publication and opposition | 3 months | Third parties may oppose |
| Trademark — registration certificate | 8–10 months total | Valid for 10 years from registration |
| Invention patent — substantive examination | 18–30 months | Requested within 3 years of filing |
| Utility model patent | 6–10 months | Formal examination only |
| Design patent | 6–8 months | Formal examination only |
| Software copyright | 30–60 working days | Certificate from the Copyright Protection Centre |
A trademark, month by month
Clearance search and class strategy
Search the register and the market; decide which classes and which goods actually need cover.
Electronic filing
Filing receipt arrives within one to two weeks. The ™ symbol may be used from this point.
Examination and response
Most applications pass. A refusal or a partial refusal is answered with argument and evidence, not with a refiling.
Publication and certificate
Three-month opposition window, then registration. ® may only be used from this point.
Most of the commercial value sits in the first step and the last: searching properly, then watching.
We search the register in Chinese for identical and similar marks, check your class coverage against the actual product line, and flag any blocking marks before you spend money.
Applications are filed electronically with the China National IP Administration, with a controlled Chinese transliteration of your mark agreed with you in advance.
Office actions, partial refusals and oppositions are answered within the statutory window. We draft the response and explain the likely outcome before filing it.
Certificates are recorded, renewal dates enter the calendar, and monitoring alerts you when a similar mark is published — the cheapest moment to act.
Official fees are fixed by the CNIPA at RMB 270 per class for up to ten goods or services; the professional work is in clearance, class strategy and prosecution. Fees below are exclusive of VAT and set against the Beijing market, not against what an overseas firm would charge to route the same filing.
Single class filing
RMB 1,800per class
One mark, one class, straightforward prosecution.
Brand portfolio
from RMB 4,800three classes
The usual scope for a consumer or technology brand entering China.
Enforcement
from RMB 18,000per matter
When someone is already using your rights.
Invention patent drafting and prosecution starts at RMB 11,000 plus official fees; utility models from RMB 4,800; software copyright registration from RMB 1,500. Madrid designations are quoted per class after a portfolio review.
Already copied?
Send us the listing or the product link. We will assess the realistic options before you commit to legal spend.
+86 400 098 9866Yes. China follows a first-to-file system, and a foreign registration gives you no rights in China unless you claim priority within six months of the original filing under the Paris Convention. Every year, overseas brands discover that a distributor, agent or unrelated third party has already registered their mark in China, and recovering it means opposition, invalidation or a purchase.
A single-class application filed electronically runs to roughly RMB 1,800 in professional fees including the RMB 270 official fee for up to ten goods or services. A typical consumer brand needs three to five classes; a technology company usually needs class 9, 35 and 42. Madrid designations of China are quoted per class and often cost more than direct national filing once translation is included.
Eight to ten months in a clean case: one to two weeks to a filing receipt, four to six months to the examination decision, then a three-month publication period before the certificate issues. Where an office action or opposition is raised, add six to twelve months. The mark may be used from the filing date with the ™ symbol; ® may only be used after registration.
Start with evidence: a notarised purchase or a platform test buy. From there the options are platform takedowns (fast, cheap, no damages), an administrative complaint to the market regulator (seizure and fines, no compensation), customs recordal to intercept exports, or civil litigation for damages. We recommend the mix based on what you actually want — the copycat gone, or a precedent.
If you manufacture, sell or plan to license in China, yes. A Chinese patent is the only basis for stopping a local competitor, and it is also a defence: companies that hold patents are far less exposed to infringement claims from others. Utility models are granted quickly and are effective against mechanical copycats; invention patents take longer but carry more weight in litigation.
It is the practical evidence of ownership for software in China, needed for tax incentives on software products, for app store and platform complaints, and for proving subsistence in litigation. Registration with the Copyright Protection Centre typically takes 30 to 60 working days and requires source code excerpts and documentation.
Next step
Send us your mark and the products you sell. We will run a free preliminary register check and tell you which classes you actually need.
