Longtime readers of this blog have heard us say it before: register your trademark in China. Yet, we continue to see brands putting it off — and paying the price later when someone else registers the trademark.
Don’t Let a Chinese Squatter Steal Your Brand: The Ultimate Guide to China Trademark Registration
Your brand is gaining momentum. Your sales are growing. People are starting to talk. Then someone in China files your trademark before you do and it now legally owns “your” brand name there.
This isn’t a one-off horror story. It’s standard operating procedure for trademark squatters in China. And if you wait to file for China trademark protections, your only options may be to pay up, rebrand, or fight a long legal battle you didn’t need to be in and you probably will not win.
If your business sells, manufactures, or might one day expand internationally, you likely need to register your trademark in China.
Register Your Trademark in China NOW
You don’t need to be in China to be at risk.
Chinese trademark squatters monitor U.S. and EU trademark filings, Kickstarter campaigns, product launches, and even LinkedIn posts. Once your brand shows up on their radar, it can take just days for someone to file your name as their trademark in China.
And once a squatter owns your name in China:
You may be legally blocked from manufacturing your own goods
You could lose six-figure inventory shipments at China customs
Counterfeiters build fake e-commerce ecosystems using your stolen trademark
Ideally, you register in China before anyone else does. China is a first-to-file jurisdiction, which means whoever gets to the trademark office first wins the registration, regardless of who created or used the mark first elsewhere.
If you discover that someone has already beaten you to it, don’t panic — there may be remedies, depending on the facts:
Oppositions to pending applications.
Non-use cancellations of the bad-faith registration.
Bad-faith challenges in certain circumstances.
These tools can work, but they are costlier, slower, and less certain than getting it right from the start.
Why China Trademark Registration Matters
If your brand is selling or planning to sell in China, trademark registration there should be at the very top of your to-do list. The same goes for companies that manufacture in China for export, even if your goods never touch the Chinese consumer market. Without a Chinese registration, your brand name is exposed, and bad-faith registrants can seize it first, potentially compromising your manufacturing and export activities.
But even if you don’t sell in China and don’t manufacture there, registration can still be critical:
China is the world’s manufacturing hub. Counterfeiters don’t need your permission to start producing lookalike products.
Trademark registrations in the wrong hands are dangerous. They can create consumer confusion, block your own entry into the China market, and give counterfeiters a veneer of legitimacy.
Chinese consumers travel and shop abroad. They may encounter your brand outside China, and a trademark registered in someone else’s name can cast doubt on authenticity.
In short: if there’s value in your brand, there’s value for bad-faith actors registering it as well.
The Small Investment That Could Save Your Brand (And Why It’s Worth Every Penny)
One company — now a client — had their fitness equipment brand hijacked before they ever considered entering the Chinese market. A squatter registered the trademark first and began producing lookalikes on Alibaba. By the time the company came to us, the damage was already done.
In another case, a Canadian coat manufacturer came to us after Chinese Customs had seized a major shipment of their coats at the border. Why? Because a Chinese company — which had registered the Canadian company’s brand name as a trademark — filed a complaint. The Canadian company wanted us to sue for trademark theft. We had to explain that it wasn’t theft under Chinese law and that litigation would be costly and uncertain. Ultimately, we negotiated a buyout of the trademark. It wasn’t cheap, and it wasn’t fair — but it was the best option left.
The company had two options: pay a six-figure sum to buy their own name back, or rebrand entirely. They paid.
Stories like this happen every week. And they’re almost always preventable — with one basic, affordable step. Register your brand name (and sometimes your logo) in China.
China Trademark Squatting: How It Works (and Why It’s Getting Worse)
To a trademark squatter, your brand is their money making opportunity.
They spend as little as $2,000 to file your trademark in China (often far less, thanks to Chinese government subsidies) and then they wait. The moment you show up in China to manufacture, sell, or ship your product, they pounce. With a trademark registration for “your” brand name in hand, they legally own the name.
This isn’t fraud under Chinese law. It’s legal — and it’s happening more often than ever.
Our China trademark lawyers often tell clients: your product will almost certainly be copied in China. And for most companies, that kind of copying results in minimal losses.
But when your product is copied and the copycats can legally use your brand name — because you didn’t register your trademark in China — the damage is far worse. In our experience, that typically means a 50% or greater drop in sales. And the longer you wait to file your trademark in China, the more likely it is that someone else will do it first.
Why China NNN Agreements Are Not a Panacea
We hear from companies almost every day, urgently seeking a Non-Disclosure, Non-Use, Non-Circumvention (NNN) Agreement. They’ve been told by “internet lawyers” that it’s the essential tool for doing business in China.
But in more than half of those cases, the NNN Agreement is either irrelevant or nearly useless. What they actually need is a China trademark.
If your brand name appears on your product or packaging and you’re manufacturing in China, a registered trademark is almost always your most important legal protection — not an NNN Agreement.
To be clear, China NNN Agreements can be extremely effective in the right context. But they only protect you against the specific party that signs them. A China trademark protects you against everyone.
As a new client put it in an email to us yesterday (after we steered them away from an unnecessary NNN Agreement and toward a far more valuable but less expensive China trademark:
“After reading your breakdown, I’m most concerned about China trademark protection. Manufacturing there clearly puts our brand at serious risk of counterfeiting and infringement — even though we’re primarily selling in the U.S.”
“The NNN Agreement now feels like just one piece of a broader protection strategy. I really appreciate you highlighting the trademark risk instead of simply taking my initial request at face value.”
For more on the NNN Agreement hype, see Beware the Online China NNN Agreement.
Don’t Forget Border Protection in the U.S. (and/or Critical Sales Markets)
For brands selling in the U.S., another crucial step is to record your U.S. trademark with United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This allows CBP to stop counterfeit goods at the border before they reach consumers. It’s an especially powerful measure for brands facing down a bad-faith Chinese trademark owner, because it prevents those counterfeit goods from entering the U.S. market.
If you have trademark registrations in other sales markets for your products (generally a good idea!), you can also record them with customs authorities there.
The Bottom Line
China trademark registration:
Costs less than a trade show booth
Stops counterfeiters before they start
Empowers customs enforcement
Preserves global expansion options
Keeps you out of expensive legal fights
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it: if your brand has any connection to China — now or in the future — register your trademark there. It’s one of the most effective, proactive steps you can take to protect your brand globally.
Ready to protect your brand? Our Mandarin speaking China trademark lawyers handle Chinese trademark registrations, oppositions, and enforcement. Contact us for a complimentary China trademark risk assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions About China Trademark Registration
What is a “first-to-file” trademark system?
China grants trademark rights to whoever files first — even if someone else used it first elsewhere. That’s why filing early is everything. This is why your U.S. or EU or Canadian or Australian trademark does not provide you with trademark protection in China.
Do I need a China trademark if I don’t sell in China?
Yes. If you manufacture in China or are visible online, you are at risk. Many foreign companies have been blocked from making their own products or exporting them due to squatter-registered trademarks.
What happens if someone else registers my trademark in China?
You can challenge it through an opposition, non-use cancellation, or bad-faith claim, but all of these are slow and uncertain. Filing first is cheaper and it avoids this mess.
Can trademark squatters stop my Chinese manufacturers?
Yes. All they need is a registration. Most Chinese factories will stop production immediately if they receive a cease-and-desist from a trademark owner, even if that “owner” is a squatter.
Can trademark squatters stop my products from leaving China?
Yes. Chinese Customs enforces trademark rights. If a squatter owns “your” mark and registers it with Chinese Customs, they can have your products seized at the port as counterfeit goods.
What if I’m already manufacturing in China but haven’t yet filed for a China Trademark?
You’re in a danger zone. File immediately. We’ve seen cases where squatters filed trademarks before a company’s first production run.
Should I register misspellings and variants of my brand?
In most cases, no. In some cases yes. Counterfeiters often file variations that sound or look like your brand, especially if your name is simple or phonetically obvious. But a lot depends on the nature of your product and the breadth of protection that makes sense for your business.
What’s the most common mistake companies make?
Not using a lawyer who truly understands China’s unique trademark classification system.
This often leads to three costly errors:
Filing in the wrong class, which leaves your core products unprotected.
Filing in too few classes, which creates loopholes for squatters to exploit.
Filing in too many classes, which wastes time and money without improving protection.
China’s classification system differs from most Western systems. Each class is broken into narrow subclasses, and protection doesn’t automatically extend across them. If your lawyer doesn’t know how to navigate this structure strategically, you’re almost certainly exposed. You must use a lawyer fluent in Chinese.
Do I need a Chinese company to register a China Trademark?
No. Foreign businesses and individuals can file directly.
Can I use my trademark in China before registration?
Technically yes, but it’s risky. China offers no common-law rights. If someone files before you, they own it. It virtually always makes sense to file for your China trademark before manufacturing or marketing in China.
What happens if I stop using my China trademark?
China trademarks last 10 years and can be renewed. But if you don’t use it for 3 consecutive years, a third party can file a “non-use cancellation” and take it from you.
Should I register the Chinese translation of my brand?
Maybe. If you are selling your product in China, probably yes. If you are not selling your product in China, probably no.
For more on China trademarks, check out:
