Drake Chen

China Trademark Search refers to the process where an applicant, before filing a trademark registration application, searches and retrieves existing conflicting registered trademark rights. In simple terms, it means checking whether there are any identical or similar trademarks (in terms of name or logo) compared to the one the applicant intends to register, and whether it complies with the regulations of China trademark registration.

Please note: Mainland Chinese trademarks are not valid in Taiwan and Hong Kong. To register a Taiwan trademark or Hong Kong trademark, Taiwan trademark search and Hong Kong trademark search are likewise required for both regions.

There are two ways to conduct a trademark search:

1. Searching on the China trademark office website yourself (Free).

If you are planning to sell in Taiwan, list on regional marketplaces, or appoint local distributors, waiting to think about trademarks is where problems start. The Taiwan trademark registration process is usually straightforward when handled early, but it can become expensive and slow once another party files first or a conflict appears during examination.

Taiwan is a first-to-file jurisdiction. That matters for foreign businesses because prior use in the US or another market does not automatically protect your brand there. If your product is gaining traction in Asia, or if Taiwan is part of a broader China-language market strategy, trademark filing should happen before launch, not after your first shipment.

How the Taiwan trademark registration process works

At a practical level, the Taiwan trademark registration process has five stages: search, application preparation, filing, examination, and registration. The legal framework is not unusually difficult, but the quality of the work done before filing often decides whether the application moves smoothly.

In 2024, the National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) launched a one-year pilot program for China trademark agency credit evaluation management in five provinces: Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei. The evaluation covers all trademark agencies and practitioners in these provinces, with a credit rating system consisting of four levels: A, B, C, and D.

Preliminary evaluation results have been released, and the credit ratings of 6,646 agencies and 10,597 practitioners have been published on the websites of provincial intellectual property offices. Some agencies and individuals had their credit scores deducted and ratings adjusted due to negative credit information.

This pilot program is crucial for improving the credit regulatory mechanism, strengthening intellectual property agency supervision, and guiding the healthy and orderly development of the industry. CNIPA plans to summarize the pilot experience, further refine the evaluation methods and index system, and promote the credit evaluation mechanism nationwide in due course to foster the sustainable and healthy development of the trademark agency industry.