China National Intellectual Property Administration published a notification on October 9, announcing that the method of issuing trademark registration certificates will be changed officially on January 1, 2022.

Starting from January 1, 2022, CNIPA will issue a Notification of Collecting Trademark Certificate as to the registration certificate generated from the application filed in paper form. The applicant can obtain the electronic certificate by logging in to the designated online system with the assigned enter code given in the Notification. For the application filed in electronic form, the applicant can obtain the registration certificate through Trademark Online Service System.

The electronic trademark certificate can be viewed, downloaded, and printed voluntarily. CNIPA will no longer issue a hard copy of trademark registration certificate.

The grace period for this change is set from October 15, 2021 to December 31, 2021. During the grace period, for the application filed in paper form, the applicant can obtain the electronic certificate by the method mentioned above and will also receive the hard copy of the certificate. For the application filed in electronic form, the way to issue trademark registration certificates will remain the same.