A China trademark registration and an NNN Agreement protect different assets against different parties. Most branded manufacturing projects need both, but each has its own deadline.
Startups cannot protect every trademark, patent, design, and trade secret everywhere at once. The smarter approach is to identify what the business cannot afford to lose, focus on the countries that matter most, and build an international IP strategy around revenue, manufacturing, expansion plans, and a realistic budget.
Why it makes sense to use an American lawyer who is fluent in Chinese to handle your China trademark filings.
Artwork can cross borders faster than the legal protections behind it. This guide explains how artists can protect ownership, control overseas production, register key rights, safeguard their names, and respond when galleries, manufacturers, licensees, or counterfeiters misuse their work.
China adopted a revised Trademark Law on June 26, 2026. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2027. Much of the commentary surrounding the revised law has focused on the statutory changes themselves. Foreign companies, however, should focus on what they need to do differently before the law takes effect. The fundamentals remain
If your products are made in China and exported from there, your trademarks are already exposed. For many companies, the real risk is not selling in China. It is someone else registering the mark first and using that registration to disrupt manufacturing or exports.
Trademark Squatters Are Coming for Your Supply Chain in Swarms Now For years, trademark squatters followed the same general script. They would identify a foreign brand that had not yet registered its trademark in China, the United States, or another key market. Then they would file first and wait. Eventually, the legitimate brand owner would
f you think China’s new trade secret rules mean you can rely less on contracts, you’re making a costly mistake. Laws don’t enforce themselves. Contracts still do the heavy lifting.
China NNN Agreements work when they deter Chinese companies from misusing your IP. Here is when they help, when they do not, and how to draft one that will actually work.
If you are manufacturing in China, you almost certainly need a China Trademark.
