Five Practical Ways Foreign Brands Should Prepare for China’s New Trademark Law

China’s amended Trademark Law has generated considerable discussion, but much of that discussion has focused on the statutory changes themselves rather than what they mean in practice.

File early, register strategically in the classes and subclasses that matter, and monitor your trademarks. At the same time, the amendments introduce several changes that make ongoing trademark portfolio management more important than before. For the basic reason early filing remains so important, see China Trademarks: Do You Feel Lucky? Do You?

Here are the five developments that foreign brand owners should pay the closest attention to.

1. Beginning January 1, 2027, you will have only two months—not three—to oppose conflicting applications

From a practical perspective, this is probably the most significant change.

Many foreign brand owners do little or nothing to monitor new trademark filings in China. Instead, they discover conflicting applications only by chance—through a distributor, customer, business partner, or local counsel—or, worse, after the mark has already proceeded to registration.

Reducing the opposition period from three months to two months makes this reactive approach considerably riskier. Companies with valuable brands in China should consider implementing a systematic trademark watch program so that newly published applications can be identified while opposition remains available. Waiting to stumble across a problematic application may no longer leave enough time to act.

The same principle applies well beyond China. Trademark rights are territorial, and each jurisdiction has its own opposition procedures and deadlines. In the United States, for example, the opposition period is generally just thirty days. Companies with international trademark portfolios should therefore consider implementing coordinated trademark watch programs across the jurisdictions that matter most to their business, rather than relying on chance to uncover potentially conflicting filings.

For companies that already use trademark watch services, the shorter opposition period also means internal review and decision-making should be streamlined so that instructions can be provided to Chinese counsel well before the new deadline expires.

2. Keep your registration information current

The amended law increases the consequences of failing to update registration details after changes to the registrant’s name, address, or other recorded information.

In reality, this is simply good trademark portfolio management.

Companies relocate, reorganize, merge, and change names all the time. Whenever those changes occur, corresponding updates should be recorded not only with CNIPA, but also with trademark offices in other jurisdictions where the company owns registrations or has pending applications. Keeping trademark records current has always been a fundamental aspect of maintaining a global trademark portfolio, and the amendments simply underscore the importance of ensuring that those records accurately reflect reality.

3. Think carefully before changing your logo

The amended law also reinforces another long-standing best practice.

Marketing departments naturally refresh logos over time, but trademark registrations protect the mark as registered—not necessarily later variations.

For this reason, word marks remain the cornerstone of most international trademark strategies. They are generally more durable than design marks and much less susceptible to becoming outdated as branding evolves.

Before adopting or rolling out a redesigned logo in China—or, ideally, anywhere in the world—companies should consult trademark counsel to assess whether additional trademark filings are advisable. Material changes can also make it harder to prove use of the registered mark if the company later faces a non-use cancellation action. That has long been a concern in China, and the amended law only reinforces the importance of ensuring that trademark registrations continue to reflect marketplace reality.

4. Maintain evidence of trademark use

Beginning in 2027, CNIPA will have authority to initiate certain non-use cancellation proceedings on its own initiative rather than waiting for a third party to act.

Exactly how frequently this authority will be exercised remains to be seen, and much will depend on how CNIPA implements the new provisions in practice.

Nevertheless, the practical lesson is straightforward: maintaining evidence of use is becoming increasingly important.

Advertising materials, invoices, product packaging, sales records, screenshots, and other contemporaneous evidence should be retained on an ongoing basis rather than reconstructed years later after a cancellation action has already begun. It is surprisingly common to see companies that have, in fact, been using their trademarks for years, yet are unable to prove that use because they failed to preserve the necessary records.

The basic principle remains unchanged: trademarks are intended to identify goods and services actually being offered in commerce.

5. Make sure your portfolio reflects your business

Many companies accumulate registrations over time that no longer correspond to their commercial activities.

The amended law provides another reason to periodically review whether trademark portfolios accurately reflect current business operations.

A registration covering goods or services the company has never offered—and does not realistically intend to offer—may provide less practical value than companies sometimes assume.

Conversely, ensuring that registrations adequately protect the products and services that actually matter to the business remains one of the most effective ways to reduce enforcement risk.

A Broader Push Against Trademark Abuse

The amendments also expand the general good-faith principle governing trademark registration and use. In addition to requiring trademark rights to be exercised in good faith, the law now expressly prohibits the abuse of trademark rights in a manner that harms national interests, the public interest, or the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Whether these provisions become significant enforcement tools remains to be seen. Much will depend on how broadly CNIPA and the courts interpret and apply them in practice. At a minimum, however, they reflect a continued legislative effort to discourage opportunistic trademark conduct throughout the life of a trademark, not merely at the filing stage.

The amendments also extend certain penalties applicable to China-based trademark agencies to misconduct occurring in connection with overseas trademark matters. We look forward to vigorous enforcement of these new provisions against the trademark filing mills that have clogged trademark registers around the world—including the USPTO—with bad-faith applications.

A Good Time for a Portfolio Audit

The amendments do not fundamentally change the importance of trademark registration in China. Filing early remains the single most important step foreign companies can take to protect their brands.

What the amendments do change is the importance of maintaining those registrations after they issue.

This is therefore an excellent opportunity to conduct a portfolio review. Brand owners should confirm that:

• registrant names and addresses are current;
• registered logos still match the marks being used;
• evidence of use is being retained on an ongoing basis;
• trademark watch procedures can accommodate the new two-month opposition period; and
• registrations continue to correspond to the goods and services the company actually offers.

Many aspects of the amended law will only become clearer as the authorities begin implementing the new provisions. Until then, the prudent course is to assume the new powers will be aggressively enforced, and ensure that trademark portfolios are in a position to withstand heightened scrutiny.