Not Selling in China Yet? How a Squatter Can Still Cost You

Checked: 3 November 2026 (official source pages).

Direct answer

Yes. A brand that has never sold in China can still lose the ability to use its name there, because China’s trademark system rewards the earlier filing, not the earlier use. If another party files your name first for the same or similar goods, the burden shifts to you: you may have to challenge that filing with evidence instead of simply launching as planned. The practical response is unglamorous: decide which signs you need to protect, clear them, and file before the first visible China-facing step, such as a distributor conversation, a trade fair, a marketplace listing or a Chinese-language campaign. That is a risk decision, not a guarantee: a filing can still be refused or challenged.

Why “we don’t sell there yet” is not a safe position

The 2019-amended Trademark Law is the current statute, and it is built around registration. Article 4 directs anyone who wants exclusive rights in a mark to apply for registration. Article 31 deals with competing applications for identical or similar marks on the same or similar goods: the application filed earlier is the one that is approved and published, and earlier use decides only when the applications were filed on the same day.

Nothing in those provisions asks whether the first filer has sold the product or has any link to the brand. Motive matters only if you challenge the filing on a ground that turns on it. Until then, the register shows a filing date, a sign and a list of goods.

The EU China IP SME Helpdesk made the same practical point in an October 2026 guest article: a company with a long history elsewhere can arrive in China and find its name already registered, and the safer course is to secure the original name and its Chinese version before any business, trade-fair or promotional activity there. The rest of this guide turns that rule into questions you can check.

What the law offers if someone files first

China’s law has tools against abusive filings. Each is conditional and depends on evidence you would need to assemble.

• Pre-emptive filing of a mark already in use. Article 32 says an application must not damage another party’s existing prior rights and must not use improper means to register, ahead of its owner, a mark that is already in use and has some influence. The wording looks at a mark that is already used and has influence. For a brand with no China-facing business, what evidence is required, and how far the use must reach, is assessed case by case.
• Filings without intention to use. The second sentence of Article 4 says a bad-faith application not made for the purpose of use shall be refused.
• Agents, distributors and business partners. Article 15 covers an agent or representative who registers the principal’s mark in its own name, and a party that registers a mark it knew about through a contract or business relationship. In both cases the owner has to oppose, and the second case concerns an earlier used but unregistered mark, so evidence of use still matters. See our guide on licensing to a distributor.

Whether any of these helps depends on the status of the other filing:

• Opposition is available during the publication period after preliminary approval. Under Article 33 of the 2019 law that period is three months. Under Article 36 of the 2026 revised law, which takes effect on 1 January 2027, it is two months.
• Invalidation is the route for a registered mark. Article 45 of the 2019 law gives holders of prior rights five years from registration to request invalidation on grounds that include Article 32. It also removes the five-year limit for owners of well-known marks where the registration was made in bad faith.
• Non-use cancellation under Article 49 allows any person to ask for cancellation of a registered mark that has gone three consecutive years without justified use. That is a statutory route, not a plan, because it depends on waiting and on what the registrant can prove.

Our guide to opposition, invalidation or non-use cancellation helps match a route to a real record. None is automatic, and each asks for evidence of what your brand did in China and when, which a brand with no China activity may lack.

Where the exposure begins

A brand becomes visible long before a launch. Review these moments:

1. Before supplier or distributor talks. A counterparty learns the name before you have a China filing. Settle ownership and the filing plan with the commercial terms.
2. Before a trade fair, press release or Chinese-language materials. If partners may coin a Chinese name, see what to do if a Chinese translation is registered by someone else.
3. Before a marketplace listing or first shipment. Check that the name, logo and any Chinese form are cleared and filed.
4. After a first filing abroad. A first application abroad can open a six-month priority window for China where a treaty or reciprocity applies. Under Article 25 of the 2019 law, priority is declared at filing and the first application’s copy follows within three months. See how priority works for a foreign applicant.

A practical order of work

1. Decide the signs. List the English or Latin name, any Chinese name in use or planned, and the logo. Each may need separate review.
2. Clear before filing. Check the official register for identical and similar marks on the relevant goods. The Helpdesk notes that China applies the Nice classification with its own similar-goods subdivisions, so a correct class does not by itself mean full coverage. See clearing a proposed China trademark.
3. Choose the filing route. The CNIPA guidance for foreign applicants says a foreign company with no business domicile in China must use a trademark agency, and that a wholly owned China branch or a representative office does not count as that domicile. The alternative is a Madrid designation. WIPO’s Madrid filing page says the route requires a basic mark with an office of origin and that each designated member’s domestic law determines the scope of protection. A Madrid designation therefore asks for protection in China. It does not bypass Chinese examination. See how to compare the two routes.
4. Watch after filing. Opposition windows are short, so set up a process for monitoring China trademark publications.

If someone has already filed your name

Start with the official record: application number, filer, filing date, goods and stage (pending, published or registered). Preserve the search result with its retrieval date, and gather your own registrations, first-use dates, sales and contract records and any dealings with the filer. Then match the response to the stage, as our guides on similar China trademark filings and bad-faith applications under the 2026 revision explain. Decide how, and whether, to approach the filer only after those facts are reviewed.

Common misreadings

“We have no China sales, so we are not a target.” The filing rules do not require sales (2019 Law, Articles 4 and 31).

“Our EU, US or Madrid registration already covers China.” Rights follow the territory where protection is sought. A Madrid designation is a request for China protection that China’s own law then governs (WIPO Madrid filing page).

“We can simply oppose later.” Opposition is available only during the publication window, on listed grounds and by eligible parties. After that, the route is invalidation, with its own conditions (2019 Law, Articles 33, 44 and 45).

“The 2026 revision will solve squatting.” The revised law adds provisions on filings made without intention to use (Article 19), deliberate pre-emption of a mark already in use (Article 24) and administrative consequences for specified bad-faith filing (Article 54). It takes effect on 1 January 2027 and does not remove the need to file. Matters that straddle the date need a transition check; see the 2026 law transition.

Work with ChanYond

ChanYond is a trademark agency recorded with CNIPA, working from Shenzhen. For a brand that has not yet entered China, we can help with three things that appear on our services page:

• search, name and classification review for the English name, Chinese name and logo, based on the goods or services you plan to offer;
• application planning, including whether a domestic China filing or a Madrid designation fits the applicant and any existing rights;
• review of any notice or conflicting filing that has already surfaced, to identify which procedure is relevant, working from the official document and its date.

Send a short, non-confidential summary of the brand, the countries where it is used, the goods or services and any documented deadline to info@chanyond.com, or use the contact page. Please keep identity documents and confidential case files out of a first message. Service and official fees are agreed in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a China trademark before we sell in China? No single rule requires every foreign business to register every mark before entering, but waiting leaves the filing date to someone else. See whether a foreign brand needs a China trademark first.

Can we stop a squatter after they have filed? Sometimes a challenge is available. It depends on the filing’s stage, the legal ground, your standing and your evidence, and no result can be assumed.

Should the Chinese name be filed as well? If a Chinese name is in use or planned, treat it as its own sign; customers and distributors may also coin one. See English and Chinese names.

Is a Madrid registration enough? It can be one route, but it needs a basic mark and is examined under Chinese law. Compare it with a direct filing for your applicant.

What changes on 1 January 2027? The revised Trademark Law takes effect. It shortens the opposition period to two months and adds bad-faith filing provisions. For a matter crossing the date, confirm the governing rule and any implementing measure.

Questions to resolve before action

• Which signs (English name, Chinese name, logo) will customers and partners actually see in China?
• Which goods or services will they cover, and is any similar sign already on the register?
• Which entity will own the mark, and is a China trademark agency required?
• Has any first foreign filing started a priority period that is still open?
• Who will watch publications and receive official notices?

Official sources and scope

• https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/7/30/art_95_28179.html
• https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_3686_206940.html
• https://english.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/3/17/art_2996_205374.html
• https://www.wipo.int/en/web/madrid-system/how_to/file/index
• Background (not an official CNIPA statement): https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/why-you-can-lose-your-trademark-youve-even-sold-chinese-market-2026-10-01_en

As checked on 3 November 2026, the 2019-amended Trademark Law is the current law. The revised law was adopted on 26 June 2026 and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027 (Article 87). A consultation draft is not an operative rule. Confirm the governing text and any final implementation or transition measure for the date of the specific matter. This article is ChanYond’s independent reading aid, not a CNIPA statement or case-specific legal advice. It contains no claim about the approval, timing or cost of any individual application.