Hi-Com Shares Insight on Trademark Registration in China
Registering your trademark is a must before starting a business in China. In its latest article, Hi-Com provides an overview of the trademark registration process in China, including information on product classification, steps needed to protect your products and documents needed for registration. Below is a preview of the article:
The first thing you need to know is that China’s trademark registration employs a “first to file” system, so don’t worry about the length of the process as long as the process has already started. This is true even if you are not conducting any sales in China. This means that anyone in the world who knows your name could register your TM (trademark) before you do! As you can see, it is very important that no-one beats you to it, as it is legal to sell trademark rights, which may lead to blackmail issues.
The trademark is only given for a period of 10 years, with a right of renewal for one more decade
As the official written language in China is Mandarin Chinese, it is highly advisable that you register your brand name in Chinese characters as an addition to your Latin written version.
What can be registered as a Trademark?
You can register many things as a trademark, including words, design, letters of an alphabet, numerals, three-dimensional symbols, and color combinations.
Below is an example of the product classification table breakdown:
All possible products are described and split into 45 Classes
Each Class consists of sub-classes, and these include codes of potential products.
Class 21: Household or kitchen utensils and containers…
Subcategory: 2101 kitchen cooking utensils and containers
Item codes:
Basin（container）210025
Butter dish 210030
Butter dish cover 210031 etc.
The list goes on.
So, if one day you want to register a TM for butter dishes and butter dish covers, you will be listed as Class 21, Codes: 210030, 210031… and you can go on with as many codes as you want, depending on your business scope. Think carefully, and if tomorrow your brand will be selling cooking pods or microwaves, make sure you register your trademark across those classes as well.
The process could be costly, since it is common to register a maximum of 10 codes per product Class, so the price goes up with the amount of Classes you choose.
Visit Hi-Com's website to read the full post.
