After the imported goods are translated into Chinese brands, in order to protect their intellectual property rights, enterprises should obtain exclusive rights to the Chinese trademarks used on their goods in their production and business activities, and apply for trademark registration with the Trademark Office. As the scale of enterprises continues to grow, trademarks will become intangible assets of enterprises and will bring huge benefits to enterprises.
(I) Processing channels
There are two ways for domestic applicants to apply for trademark registration: one is to handle it by themselves; the other is to entrust a trademark agency registered with the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office to handle it.
In terms of the method of submitting documents, if the applicant handles it by himself, the applicant can submit the trademark registration application online through the online service system. For details on the submission method, please refer to the “Online Application” column of the China Trademark Network. The website of the Trademark Online Service System is: http://sbj.cnipa.gov.cn/wssq/; applicants can also go to the registration hall of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office, the Trademark Office in Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, the Trademark Examination Cooperation Center established by the Trademark Office outside Beijing, or the trademark business acceptance window established by the Trademark Office to entrust the local market supervision department or intellectual property department.
Foreigners or foreign enterprises who apply for trademark registration and handle other trademark matters in China shall entrust a trademark agency established in accordance with the law to handle the matter, except for foreigners or foreign enterprises who have permanent residence or business premises in China.
(II) Required documents
When applying for trademark registration, all forms shall be filled in according to the classification table of goods and services published by the Trademark Office. Each trademark registration application shall be submitted to the Trademark Office with the following documents:
① One copy of the “Trademark Registration Application”;
② One copy of the trademark pattern;
③ If a trademark registration is applied for with a color combination or a colored pattern, a colored pattern and a black-and-white draft shall be submitted; if no color is specified, a black-and-white pattern shall be submitted;
④ Other supporting documents (such as business license, copy of identity certificate, etc.).
A trademark registration applicant may apply for the registration of the same trademark for multiple categories of goods through one application. Each trademark application for any registration matter shall be deemed as an application, and the corresponding application documents shall be submitted to the Trademark Office, and the fees shall be paid in accordance with the regulations.
(III) Fee Standards
Each trademark registration must pay relevant fees in accordance with regulations. According to the “Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance on Fee Standards for Trademark Business” (No. 2404 of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance on Reducing the Fees for Housing Transfer Handling Fees and Trademark Registration Fees” (No. 2136 of the Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance in 2015) and the “Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission on Cleaning Up and Standardizing a Batch of Administrative and Institutional Fees” (No. 20 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance in 2017).
(IV) Trademark Registration Process
If the trademark of imported goods has been used in an exhibition, it will enjoy priority when registering.
Article 26 of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that if a trademark is used for the first time on goods exhibited at an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the Chinese government, the applicant for registration of the trademark can enjoy priority within six months from the date of the exhibition of the goods.
According to the priority provided by the law, when applying for trademark registration, the applicant shall select “priority based on exhibition” and fill in the “application/exhibition country 1 region” and “application/exhibition date” columns. The applicant shall also submit a priority certificate (including the original and the Chinese translation); the priority certificate shall contain the name of the exhibition where its products are exhibited, the evidence of the use of the trademark on the exhibited products, the exhibition date, etc. The priority certificate is generally issued by the organizer of the exhibition.
If the priority certificate cannot be submitted at the same time, the applicant shall select “priority certificate to be submitted later” and submit it within 3 months from the date of application. If a written explanation is not submitted or the priority certificate is not submitted within the time limit, it shall be deemed that no priority is requested.