Here is your first Forum » Trademark protection in China

The Chinese market is huge and evolving, so there are many benefits to registering your trademark in the Registers of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China (SAIC).

Since the entry into force of the TRIPs agreement, the legislation on registration and protection of trademarks in China has become more and more similar to that in Europe. Nevertheless, the process was gradual and not yet complete, as the TRIPs agreement only provided basic rules that could be implemented by the states and dissolved the agreement in the long term according to their legal position. Companies that do not promptly register their trademark in China can face many problems when trying to fight counterfeiting of their products in order to obtain trademark protection in China.

If you fail to register on time, there is a great risk that your trademark has already been “copied” by a local company and registered in China before you start your expansion in the Chinese market.

In fact, unlike courts in Europe and the United States, Chinese courts can completely reject the global practice of granting protection to unregistered trademarks of well-known companies. For example, in 1996, a Chinese apparel company registered a graphic of a horse identical to Ferrari's. The Chinese Trademark Office rejected Ferrari's opposition to the registration on the grounds that the Chinese company applied for registration of the graphic first (first-to-file principle). Ferrari appealed the decision, arguing that the symbol was recognizable as a Ferrari brand symbol around the world, including China. In 2007, after an 11-year trial, the Beijing First Intermediate Court ruled that Ferrari's horse graphic was not a famous trademark among Chinese consumers and deserved no legal protection, while the "Ferrari" name was.

In the near future, the situation may change due to the development of Chinese technology and trade, leading Chinese companies to be interested in trademark protection as well as European and American companies, so the competition may become even fiercer.

Bearing in mind that the mere use of the trademark without registration is legally irrelevant, you should act before starting your commercial activity. This is also important because the effect of legal protection in China begins at the time of registration, not the time of application, and the normal time to obtain registration is around 2 to 4 years.