a trademark applied for registration shall be protected by law after it has been approved for registration by the Trademark Office. Before the registration is approved, it is not protected by law. Article 3 stipulates that the period of validity of a trademark shall be counted from the date when the Trademark Office approves the registration of the trademark.

Legal basis

Article 3 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China

Trademarks approved and registered by the Trademark Office are registered trademarks, including commodity trademarks, service trademarks, collective trademarks and certification trademarks; Trademark registrants enjoy the exclusive right to use trademarks and are protected by law.

article 37

applications for trademark registration and trademark re-examination shall be examined in a timely manner.

article 39

the period of validity of a registered trademark is ten years, counting from the date of approval of registration.