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If your company has a product manufactured in China, sells to Chinese customers through e-commerce, or simply has a brand name that a Chinese speaker might one day write down — your trademark is exposed. Not hypothetically, but as a matter of how Chinese trademark law works.
This article explains, for business owners without a legal background, why trademark risk in China is structurally different from most other countries, and what the law requires of foreign applicants. It is the first step before the practical questions of cost and procedure, which we cover in China Trademark Registration: Fees, Timeline, and Documents .
In the United States, Canada, and a number of common-law jurisdictions, prior commercial use of a trademark can defeat a later application. In China, the rule is the opposite: the right to exclude others comes from registration, not from use.
Under the PRC Trademark Law, the applicant who files first with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) generally obtains the exclusive right, regardless of who used the mark first in the market. Prior use offers only a narrow defence (continued use of an existing mark within limited scope), not ownership.
The practical consequence is uncomfortable but simple:
An unregistered brand in China does not belong to you. It belongs to whoever files for it first.
"Professional squatters" — individuals and companies who register foreign brands in bulk — are a well-documented feature of this system. They monitor export records, e-commerce listings, trade fairs, and even online trademark search queries, then file applications for brands that have not yet registered in China. A squatter does not need to copy your product. Registering your name is enough, because that registration becomes a legal weapon: the basis for customs seizures of your own goods, e-commerce takedowns, or an invoice when you try to enter the market.
A common and costly assumption among foreign SMEs: "We only manufacture in China / we only export from China, so Chinese trademark law doesn't apply to us." It does — and the exposure is often worse for pure manufacturers than for domestic sellers.
The OEM and export trap. If your factory or trading company produces goods bearing your (unregistered) brand, and a squatter registers that brand in China, the squatter can file a complaint with China Customs. Customs can then detain your own export shipments as infringing goods. There is no irony exemption in the law: the squatter holds the Chinese registration, so on paper you are the infringer.
The Chinese-character gap. Chinese consumers, media, and distributors will inevitably create a Chinese name for your brand — a translation or a phonetic transcription. If you have not registered that Chinese version, someone else can, and will lawfully own it. Many foreign brands discovered this only when they launched in China and found the "natural" Chinese name of their brand already registered by a third party.
The e-commerce vector. Selling on cross-border platforms into China, or listing through Chinese fulfillment agents, creates the commercial connection that squatters look for. A takedown notice backed by a Chinese registration is difficult and slow to reverse.
This is a statutory requirement, not a business choice. Under the Trademark Law and its implementing rules, a foreign applicant (an enterprise or individual) without a business domicile or habitual residence in China must entrust a trademark agency legally established in China to handle filing and all subsequent trademark matters before CNIPA.
Three clarifications that frequently confuse foreign applicants:
A representative office or liaison office in China is not a "business domicile" for this purpose. A wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) registered in China is a Chinese entity and can file directly — but then it files as a Chinese company.
The Chinese-language requirement applies: application documents, the applicant's name (transliterated), and the goods/services list must be submitted in Chinese using CNIPA's official terminology. The agency handles this.
Power of attorney for trademark filings is accepted with a simple signature or seal; notarization or legalization is generally not required (it may still be needed for certain review proceedings and court actions).
CNIPA publishes the list of registered trademark agencies in its official agency inquiry system, and its English-language FAQ confirms the mandatory agency rule. When choosing an agency, verification against this official list should be your first step — see How to Choose and Verify a China Trademark Agency (Layer 4 guide).
A Chinese trademark registration is a 10-year exclusive right (renewable indefinitely in 10-year terms) that gives you, in practice:
Standing to act. You cannot oppose a squatter's application or demand customs protection without rights of your own. Registration is the entry ticket to every enforcement route: opposition, invalidation, administrative raids, civil litigation, and customs recordal.
A defence against being attacked. Registration converts your brand from a target into a protected asset; a squatter cannot threaten you with a mark you already hold in the relevant classes.
Control of your Chinese name. Registering both the original-language mark and the Chinese-character version closes the translation gap.
Platform protection. Chinese e-commerce platforms and cross-border marketplaces accept Chinese registrations (or Madrid registrations designating China) as the basis for brand-protection programs.
One caveat to set expectations honestly: registration is not automatic. CNIPA examines applications on absolute grounds and against prior filings, and no agency can guarantee approval — anyone who promises you a 100% success rate is describing a service that does not exist. What a competent agency does is search, assess risk by China's sub-class system, and file with a specification drafted to avoid the most common refusal traps. That process, including realistic fees and timelines, is set out in the Layer 2 guide.
Because rights follow filing, not use, the standard advice inverts the instinct most foreign businesses have:
Before your first production order, if goods will be manufactured in or exported from China.
Before entering the Chinese market, whether directly or through distributors, platforms, or licensing.
Before publicizing your brand plans — trade fair announcements, new-market press releases, and even open online trademark searches can tip off squatters. (Searches should be run through a professional, not through free public tools that may log queries.)
A first-to-file system punishes hesitation. The filing date is what counts, and every month of delay is a month in which your brand is available to whoever moves first.
Do I really need a separate Chinese registration if I already own a US/EU/UK trademark?
Yes. Foreign registrations have no automatic effect in China. A US or EU registration does help in one respect: it can support an opposition or invalidation against a squatter (for example, under China's bad-faith filing provisions), but it does not prevent the filing itself.
Is a Madrid Protocol registration designating China a substitute?
It is an alternative, not a substitute for making a decision. Madrid designation of China is often cost-effective when filing in many countries at once, but it has trade-offs (dependency on the home base mark for the first five years, less flexibility in specification). We compare the two routes in a dedicated article: Direct CNIPA Filing vs Madrid Protocol for China.
Can I file myself through CNIPA's website?
Only if you have a business domicile in China or, for individuals, habitual residence in China. Otherwise, filing must go through a Chinese trademark agency.
What about my Chinese name — should I create one first?
Yes, deliberately, before the market creates it for you. Choosing and registering an official Chinese-character version is standard protection for foreign brands entering China.
CNIPA English FAQ: How can Foreign Applicants Apply for Trademark Registration? — english.cnipa.gov.cn (March 2026): statutory agency requirement; definition of business domicile; registered agency inquiry link.
PRC Trademark Law: first-to-file principle (Art. 31), bad-faith filing provisions (Art. 4), three-year non-use cancellation (Art. 49), 10-year term and renewal (Arts. 39–40).
European Union / Ireland SME Helpdesk, Mainland China IP Factsheet — trademark hijacking, customs seizure of export goods, buy-back risks.
Prepared August 2026. Fee figures and procedures are subject to change.
