Registered trademark is a legal term, which refers to a trademark approved and registered by relevant government departments. The trademark applicant obtains the exclusive right to use the trademark. The registered trademark enjoys the exclusive right to use a certain brand name and brand logo. This Brand names and brand logos are protected by law and cannot be copied or used by any other company. Protected by law, trademark registrants enjoy exclusive rights to trademarks.

Registration Process

Trademark Registration Process 1. Formal Review

After formal review, the application procedures are complete and the application documents are filled in in accordance with regulations, the Trademark Office will issue Notice of acceptance.

If the application procedures are incomplete or the application documents are not filled in as required, a notice of rejection will be issued and returned, and the application date will not be retained.

If the application procedures are basically complete or the application documents basically comply with the regulations, but if supplements and corrections are needed, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of supplements and corrections to the trademark registration application. If the applicant makes corrections within the time limit and returns it to the Trademark Office, the application date will be retained; if the applicant fails to make corrections or makes corrections beyond the time limit, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of rejection and return it, and the application date will not be retained.

Trademark registration process 2. Substantive examination

After passing the formal examination, the trademark application enters the substantive examination. After substantive examination, any trademark application that complies with the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law will be initially reviewed and approved by the Trademark Office and announced.

If the application is rejected, a rejection notice will be issued to the applicant.

If the Trademark Office believes that the contents of the trademark registration application can be revised, it will issue an examination opinion. If the applicant responds within the time limit, the Trademark Office will continue the examination.

For trademarks that have been preliminarily approved after review, the China Trademark Office will announce them in the "Trademark Announcement".

Within three months from the date of announcement, anyone can object to a trademark initially approved by the China Trademark Office.

If there is no objection or the objection is ruled not to be established, the China Trademark Office will approve the registration, issue a trademark registration certificate, and announce it in the "Trademark Announcement"; if the objection is ruled to be true, the registration will not be approved.

Request for review

If the applicant is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office’s rejection of the trademark registration application during the trademark registration process, he or she may request a review from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a final decision on whether to grant registration or not, and notify the applicant in writing. If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office's objection ruling, he or she may request a review from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a final decision and notify the parties in writing.

China Trademark Registration Flowchart: China Trademark Registration Flowchart

Registration Steps

1. Registration Preparation Choose the registration method: one is to apply for registration at the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; the other is to entrust an experienced trademark agency to organize agency services. Before registration, it is best to find a more authoritative search company to conduct pre-registration inquiries to reduce the risks of trademark registration and improve the certainty of trademark registration.

2. Prepare materials, including trademark drawings, apply for a copy of the people's ID card and the company's "Business License" and submit the copies; and apply for trademark registration with the official seal of the unit.

3. Start applying

4. Submit applications by category of goods and services. When applying for registration, the category of goods or services for which the trademark is used should be determined according to the classification of the goods and services classification table; if the same applicant uses the same trademark on different categories of goods, he should file registration applications according to different categories.

5. The filing date is determined based on the date the Trademark Office receives the application. Next are the three procedures of trademark review, preliminary review announcement, and registration announcement.

6. Receive the trademark registration certificate.