In China, brand protection is mostly a sequencing problem. Rights go to the first filer, and the revised Trademark Law, effective January 1, 2027, rewards those who can show real use. Here is the order of work for a foreign company.

Search beyond trademark registers. Company names, copyrights, and influential trade names can all block you, and the amended law bars registering marks that others have already used with some influence (Article 24).

Settle your Chinese name now. A company that registers only Latin letters leaves the Chinese rendering open to squatters. Choose between transliteration, translation, or an independent coinage, and file the Chinese name early.

Then run a promise test on the name. Does it assert a quantity, purity, power, or production method? CNIPA has rejected about 1.27 million applications and invalidated 3,351 registered marks since 2023 as deceptive. Cases reported in the press include a “2.7% pomelo” juice brand and “Hand-Pulled” noodles that weren’t hand-pulled. Zhong Lun also lists "美的省电王" and "白象多半袋" among invalidated marks. A coined word avoids this risk, and it is easier to register and to enforce.

• Agent: Foreign applicants without a place of business in China must use a registered Chinese trademark agency (Article 11).

• Priority: You have six months from your first foreign filing to claim priority. A written declaration is needed at filing, with the certified copy to follow within three months (Article 29).

• Elements: Per Zhong Lun, combined marks are examined element by element, so one conflict can sink the whole filing. Register the Chinese name, English name, and logo separately, with the word mark first and in black and white.

• Classes: Claim only the classes you can prove use in within three years. One application can cover several classes (Article 26). Blanket 45-class filings are riskier under the amended Articles 19 and 54, which allow fines of up to RMB 100,000.

• Distributors: Don’t let a distributor or agent file for you. The law protects the principal (Article 22), but fighting a squatter who is your own partner is slow and expensive. Put brand ownership in the contract.

After publication, third parties get two months to oppose, down from three. Put the date in your calendar and watch the gazette for marks similar to yours.

The amended law counts online use as use (Article 2). Keep dated evidence for each class. A mark unused for three consecutive years can be cancelled. In a damages suit, a defendant can also demand proof that you used the mark in the previous three years, or you may recover nothing (Article 78).

Keep the mark in its registered form. Changing it without filing anew draws an order to correct it. Under the amended law, it can also bring a fine of up to RMB 50,000 and, in serious cases, revocation (Article 57). Finally, use the mark as a brand name, never as the product’s generic name. In 2021, the Beijing High People’s Court cancelled MOCCA for coffee products on genericness grounds.