Logo protection in China - why your mark might already be there?

The trade fair trap

In March 2024, an office furniture manufacturer contacted us. The company went to a trade fair in Guangzhou to show a new line of chairs. They were successful, collecting 14 contacts for distributors. However, two months later it turned out that their logo had been registered by one of the booth visitors. This is a common mechanism. People track European novelties and register promising brands only to demand a ransom later.

Statistics show that in 2023, the number of such 'bad faith' applications increased by 14.2% compared to the previous year. Chinese law is slowly changing and trying to fight this, but still the safest method is to have your own certificate from the office. Without this, Chinese customs officials can even stop your goods at the port, considering them counterfeit, because the owner of the mark in China reported an infringement.

In China, it doesn't matter who created the brand, but who first brought the application to the office.

The Madrid System or national application?

You have two main paths to protect a logo in Beijing. The first is the Madrid Protocol, which is one application through the Polish Patent Office that covers many countries. It is convenient, but the procedure often takes from 11 to 14 months. The second option is an application directly at the Chinese CNIPA office through a local attorney. This method is usually faster and allows for a better adjustment of product classes to Chinese market realities.

At Business Precision, we recommend direct applications for companies planning large sales. Why? Because in China, commodity classes are divided into specific subclasses. If you choose a general category through the international system, you might unknowingly leave a gap that competition will exploit. The cost of a direct application in 2024 oscillates around 2,800 - 3,400 PLN for one class, including all official fees.

A Chinese name is not a luxury, it's a necessity

Many entrepreneurs forget one important thing: Chinese people rarely use Latin names. If you don't create an official Chinese name for your product, the market will do it for you. This happened to a luxury car brand that delayed registering its Chinese counterpart. A local entrepreneur registered the name used by customers, and the company had to pay huge compensation for using its own nickname.

The process of creating a name (so-called transliteration) must take into account not only the sound but also the meaning of the characters. Choosing random characters that only sound similar can end in a branding disaster. In 2023, we analyzed 47 names of Polish food products for entering the Asian market. In 12 cases, the original translation had negative associations in local dialects. A concrete approach to this stage saves a lot of nerves at a later stage of export.

If you don't give your brand a Chinese name, the market will come up with one for you – and you might not like it.

How to check your mark in 48 hours?

The first step should always be a professional availability analysis. It is not enough to enter the name in Google. Chinese databases are specific and require knowledge of the local classification system. At Business Precision, we perform such a check within a maximum of 48 hours. You get a clear report from us: whether the name is free, what the risk of application rejection is, and exactly how much the fees will be in your case.

Remember that trademark registration is a 10-year investment. During this time, no one has the right to copy your logo or impersonate your company in China. It is also the basis for fighting unfair offers on platforms such as Alibaba or JD.com. By having a certificate, you can remove auctions with counterfeits within a few days. Without the paper, you are practically defenseless against the scale of local piracy.