There are several rewards to registering a trademark wherever you are in the world. For starters, it gives you exclusive rights to use the mark you registered. Two, the registration deters anyone else who would like to use your mark. Despite all these benefits, many people don’t know how to register a trademark. The actual procedures differ somewhat depending on the country. In this article, we seek to help you to learn how to register a trademark in China.
Check if it’s already registered
The fact that you have a trademark to register doesn’t mean somebody else didn’t beat you to it. For this reason, you should ascertain if it’s already been registered. Otherwise, you would not enjoy the brand protection that you crave. Furthermore, this right is accorded to citizens and foreigners alike. However, foreigners may need the assistance provided by a licensed trademark agency.
Obtain, fill, and submit application forms
Now that you have confirmed that nobody registered the trademark before you, the next step involves submitting the relevant forms. Most importantly, you have to understand that you can only obtain and submit these forms from the recognized body. In China, the body that the law mandates to handle all applications for trademarks is State Administration for Industry and Commerce or SAIC. Without it, cases of trademark infringement would be more rampant!
Give SAIC time to review the application
The next step is to give SAIC the time needed for reviewing the application. Normally, the review process involves SAIC checking and confirming that your application meets all requirements. Normally, SAIC will permit you to proceed with the process if all is fine. If not, then the State Administration for Industry and Commerce will ask for more supporting documentation, which you must submit to prevent brand abuse.
SAIC proceeds to register the trademark
Assuming that the application was devoid of errors, or that your supporting documentation proved your case, SAIC will then proceed with the actual registration. Typically, this process takes anywhere between one year and sixteen months. For this reason, you should ensure that all your documents are in order so that the process takes off soonest. However, the Chinese government is working to reduce the time taken to register a trademark for brand enforcement.
SAIC approves and issues the certificate
Lastly, SAIC would then be in a position to not only approve but also issue the certificate of approval. At this point, it would be wise to mention that the approval and issuance take two months each. What is clear here is that registering a trademark in China is not something worth taking lightly. For this reason, you should start it early and have all supporting paperwork ready. Also, you should consider getting the help of companies like wisermarket.com that can give you the best online brand protection services for your intellectual property.
