How to apply for trademark registration in China as a foreigner
Foreigners must entrust a local trademark agency in China to sign a written Power of Attorney for trademark registration in China.
What kind of trademarks are not allowed to be registered in China?
【ILLEGALL】In China, trademarks that contain illegal content are not allowed to be registered and are prohibited from being used. For example, signs whose trademarks are identical or similar to the national flag, national emblems, or logos of international organizations, or signs that discriminate against race or ethnicity, or that violate socialist morality.
【NON Distinctiveness】A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the source of goods or services, so a trademark must have a distinctive role, and the following situations are considered to be non-distinctive and are not allowed to be registered as a trademark. the mark which bears only the generic name, design, ormodel number of the goods concerned; the mark which only directly indicates the quality, mainraw materials, function, use, weight, quantity or otherfeatures of the goods; and the marks that otherwise lack any distinctive feature.
【Contradiction】Trademarks that conflict with trademarks that have been applied for or registered by others on the same or similar goods are not allowed to be registered.
What documents and materials do foreigners need to provide to apply for trademark registration in China?
"three elements": the mark, the application, and the goods and services.
The mark, The most common types of mark are Word Marks, Figures Marks, or Marks combination of words and graphics. You must provide an electronic file in jpg format of not less than 200K. It should be noted here that the examination of a combination trademark requires that all the combination elements can be passed before it can be registered, so under normal circumstances, in order to obtain a higher approval rate, the applicant can choose to apply for trademark registration of the Words Marks or Figures Marks separately when the words and figures can be independent.
The application, First, you need to decide in whose name to apply for a registered trademark, whether it is a company or an individual. Then, if you decide to apply in the name of the company, you need to provide a copy of the business license with the corresponding Chinese translation, and the copy of the business license is stamped with the company's official seal and the signature of the person in charge. If you decide to apply as an individual, you need to provide a copy of the applicant's ID card or passport and the corresponding Chinese translation, and the applicant needs to sign the copy. The signature or official seal here needs to be consistent with the Power of Attorney for Trademark Agency.
The goods and services, China's registered trademarks are divided into 45 categories, with classes 1-34 for goods and 35-45 for services. Designated goods or services shall be based on the following. (1) Required: the goods or services in which the applicant has marked the trademark to be registered; (2) Placeholder: the goods or services that the applicant intends to mark the trademark to be registered in; (3) Defense: The applicant does not want others to mark the goods or services in which the trademark to be registered is in.
China Trademark Examination Process and Timeline
Formal examination takes about 1 month: the main examination is whether the trademark is qualified, whether the application documents are complete, whether the declared goods are standardized, whether the trademark application fee has been paid, and the Trademark Office will issue a Notice of Acceptance of Trademark Registration Application, which will confirm the application date and application number of the trademark. Proceed to the next review stage.
The substantive examination takes about 3-6 months: the review includes (1) whether it violates the prohibitive clauses of relevant laws; (2) whether it violates the provisions of the Trademark Law on the distinctiveness of trademarks; (3) Whether there is a trademark registered or applied for earlier. If the substantive examination is not passed, the Trademark Office will issue a Notice of Refusal or Partial Refusal, and if the substantive examination is passed, it will be compiled into the Trademark Gazette.
3 months for trademark publication: The publication period is also known as the "public opposition period", and anyone who has an objection to the trademark can file an objection within the publication period. If an objection is raised, the "opposition" procedure will be initiated, and if there is no objection, the registration will be "approved" on the date of the expiration of the publication period.
Issuance: The certificate will generally be issued at the expiration of the announcement period without raising an objection to the issuance of the "Trademark Registration Certificate", which has been fully used by electronic certificates, and the applicant needs to keep them properly.
Term of protection of registered trademarks in China: The validity period of registered trademarks in China is 10 years, and applications can be applied for renewal within 1 year before expiration. It can be renewed for 10 years at a time.