Services
Filing your mark with CNIPA, in the subclasses that actually cover what you sell.
An applicant may handle a trademark registration application or other trademark matters on its own or through a lawfully established trademark agency. A foreigner or foreign enterprise applying for trademark registration or handling other trademark matters in China shall entrust a lawfully established trademark agency to handle the matter.
— Trademark Law, Article 18 · 《商标法》第十八条 — in force through 31 December 2026
Read with Article 5 of the Implementing Regulations, which defines "foreigner or foreign enterprise" as one with no habitual residence or place of business in China. A foreign company that has a branch or representative office here is not caught by this and may file on its own.
From 2027-01-01 this becomes Trademark Law (2026 Revision), Article 11(2) of the 2026 Revision, which writes the limitation into the statute itself and adds "other foreign organisation". The obligation is unchanged.
You are here because Chinese law requires a foreign company with no place of business in China to file through a Chinese agency. Fine. What you should be asking is what a good one does that a cheap one does not, and the honest answer is: the specification.
China divides every Nice class into similarity groups. Examiners apply that division mechanically. A mark registered in class 9 does not cover class 9 — it covers the subclasses you claimed inside class 9, and a competitor can register your name in the same class, in a subclass you left empty, and be entitled to it. Ten items come with the official fee; after that you pay per item. So the filing decision is a real decision, made once, and living with it for ten years.
That is the work. Everything else — the forms, the fee, the docket — is administration.
Official fees are CNIPA's, published in yuan so you can check them against the government schedule. Our own service fee is quoted per matter, in the second column.
| Service | Official fee (CNIPA) | Our fee |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark availability searchone mark, one classWord marks and device marks are searched differently; device marks require a figurative-element search and take longer. | —No official fee — this is a pre-filing check, not a CNIPA procedure. | By quotation |
| Application for registrationone mark, one class, up to 10 itemsThe official fee shown is the online-filing rate. Filing on paper costs more and we do not recommend it. | ¥270 CNY¥300 if filed on paper | By quotation |
| Each additional item beyond 10 in the same classper itemChina charges per item once you exceed 10 in a class. This is where budgets quietly break — see our guide on subclasses. | ¥27 CNY¥30 if filed on paper | By quotation |
| Claiming Convention (Paris) priorityper claimAvailable within 6 months of your first filing in a Paris Convention country. | —No separate CNIPA official fee for a trademark priority claim. | By quotation |
| Response to an examiner's office actionper class | — | By quotation |
| Review of refusal (appeal against rejection)per classThe 15-day window is statutory and short. Contact us the day you receive a refusal. | ¥675 CNY¥750 if filed on paper | By quotation |
| Renewalper classChinese registrations run 10 years from the registration date. | ¥450 CNY¥500 if filed on paper | By quotation |
Full official-fee schedule, including annuities and renewals: the fees guide. Last checked 2026-07-16.
How to register a trademark in China →
The statutory process for a company with no place of business in China. Nine months to examine, three months to oppose, fifteen days to appeal — with the article numbers.
Subclasses: the thing that breaks foreign filings →
The Nice Classification 13th edition took effect on 1 January 2026. China's similarity groups sit on top of it, and they decide what your registration is actually worth.
No. A foreign company can own a Chinese registration outright. What you need is a Chinese agency to file it — Article 18, and only if you have no habitual residence or place of business in China. Those are different things, and the difference costs some applicants a subsidiary they never needed.
Usually yes, and preferably one you chose rather than one the market chose for you. If Chinese consumers or your distributor start calling your brand something, that name has commercial value and somebody can register it. Choosing it yourself — with attention to what it sounds like and what it means — is cheaper than buying it back later.
After registration, which the statute does not permit to complete inside about twelve months from filing: nine months for examination (Art. 28) plus a three-month opposition window (Art. 33). From 1 January 2027 the opposition window drops to two months (new Art. 36), which pulls the earliest possible date in by a month.
The official fee is ¥270 per class filed online, covering up to ten goods items, then ¥27 per extra item — CNIPA's schedule, in yuan, checkable at the source. Our own fee is quoted per matter, in writing, before you engage us, and the first consultation is free. The two are itemised separately, always. The full fee schedule →
For a standard filing: a photocopy of your company registration certificate, a Chinese translation of it, and a signed power of attorney (download the POA here). That is the list — no notarisation, no legalisation, no apostille. Formalities only get real in litigation. Why, with sources →
Yes — a free knock-out check: we screen for identical marks in the classes you care about and come back within three working days, no charge. A full availability search — similar marks across the similarity groups, read by an attorney — is quoted work, and the table above shows exactly what it costs.
Both reach China. Madrid can be cheaper up front; a national filing gives you a Chinese agent from day one, which matters the moment a refusal or opposition lands. Since 12 April 2026 WIPO's individual fee for designating China is also lower than most guides still say. The comparison, with numbers →
