Start here
The Zest

Making or Selling in China? Its New Trademark Law Starts Jan. 1, 2027

Written by

"My products are made in China, but I only sell in the U.S. Do I need a trademark there?" Often, yes. China gives trademark rights to whoever files first, and a U.S. registration doesn't count there. China's revised Trademark Law takes effect on January 1, 2027, and it makes life harder for trademark squatters. It doesn't change the basic rule: the first valid filing wins.

Here's what's changing, what isn't, and what a small U.S. brand can do about it.

Why China works differently

In the United States, trademark rights come mainly from using a name in business. China works the other way. When two people apply for the same or a similar mark for similar goods, China's trademark office, CNIPA, approves the one that was filed first. If both were filed on the same day, the one used first wins.

That creates an opening for squatters. The U.S. International Trade Administration warns that China's first-to-file system lets bad-faith applicants register marks that belong to others, then hold them hostage or ride on the real owner's reputation. It also says plainly that registration in the U.S. "does not automatically confer rights in China."

The people best placed to do this are the ones who see your brand first: the factory, a sourcing agent, a distributor. Chinese law does give you a way to object when an agent, or someone who had a contract or business relationship with you, files your mark without permission. That's Article 22 of the new law. But it's a fight you have to start, pay for and prove. Filing first is cheaper than winning later.

What changes on January 1, 2027

The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress adopted the revised law on June 26, 2026. The changes that matter most to small brands:

Filings that aren't meant for use get refused. Article 19 says an application that isn't for the purpose of use, and that clearly exceeds normal production and business needs, won't be registered. The old law aimed at "bad-faith" filings of this kind. The new wording drops that phrase, which Mayer Brown reads as a shift to a more objective test.

Bad-faith filers can be fined. Under Article 54, enforcement authorities can issue a warning and a fine of up to RMB 100,000, about $14,700, for bad-faith filings that cause adverse effects, including filings that violate Article 19.

The opposition window is shorter. Once CNIPA publishes a mark it has preliminarily approved, you have two months to oppose it, down from three (Article 36). If a squatter files your name, that's your window.

Unused registrations are easier to lose. Anyone can already ask CNIPA to cancel a registration that hasn't been used for three straight years without good reason. Under the new Article 57, CNIPA can also cancel on its own initiative. Mayer Brown expects that power to be used only in specific situations once guidelines are written.

One proposal didn't survive: a requirement to file a declaration of use every five years. Both Loeb & Loeb and Mayer Brown note it was dropped from the final law. And registrations issued before the new law takes effect stay valid.

What the new law doesn't fix

It doesn't end first-to-file. A squatter who files your name before you do still has the earlier filing. The new rules give you more ways to fight a bad registration and make squatting more expensive, but fighting is still slower and costlier than filing.

It also cuts both ways. If the plan was to file in China for every class you can think of, just in case, Article 19 is aimed at that too. Both firms suggest documenting the business reason behind broad defensive filings: product plans, past copying, enforcement history. File for what you make, what you sell, and what you have real plans for.

And use matters after registration. A mark registered in China and never used there is exposed after three years. Whether your own activity in China counts as use is a question for Chinese counsel. The U.S. has its own version of this rule: the maintenance filings that ask you to prove you're still using the mark.

What to do if your products are made or sold in China

File before you manufacture or sell there. The European Commission's China IP SME Helpdesk advises having a strategy in place at least a year before you do business with China, "including if you wish only to manufacture in China." If you filed your U.S. application within the last six months, you may be able to claim that U.S. filing date for your Chinese application under the Paris Convention priority rule the USPTO describes.

Think about a Chinese-language version of the name. A registration in Roman letters doesn't automatically cover a Chinese-character version, and the Helpdesk calls registering a Chinese version "highly advisable." It also warns that if you don't pick a Chinese name, local consumers are likely to adopt one for you, and it may not be flattering. Better to choose it, and file it, yourself.

Put trademark terms in your supplier agreements. The agreement should say you own the brand, the factory can't register it or anything like it, and it can't make your product for anyone else. The Helpdesk notes that an NDA on its own may not be enough and points to agreements covering non-disclosure, non-use and non-circumvention. The contracts that protect your brand covers the U.S. side of that paperwork.

Watch for copycat filings. With a two-month opposition window, someone has to be watching CNIPA's publications for your name and anything close to it.

How filing in China actually works

A U.S. trademark attorney can't file with CNIPA directly. Under Article 11 of the new law, a foreign company with no business office in China has to go through a trademark agency established in China. The other route is the Madrid Protocol, the international system that lets you build on a U.S. application or registration and ask for protection in China and other countries through one filing. Either way, CNIPA examines the mark under Chinese law, and answering an objection from CNIPA generally means bringing in a Chinese agency.

Whichever route you take, it helps to start at home, with a solid U.S. filing on a name you searched before you committed to it. Madrid needs one, and a recent U.S. filing can give you that six-month priority claim. If you're sorting out the U.S. piece before you go abroad, you can see how the search and filing packages work on the services page, and the FAQs page answers most of what comes up before a first call.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call with the attorney (opens in a new tab)

(No legal advice is given on the discovery call. It's a chance to tell me what you're building and hear how the process works.)

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Start here