Served locally from our Guangzhou office
Our Guangzhou office supports trading companies, Canton Fair buyers, distributors and manufacturers across Guangzhou, Foshan and the western Pearl River Delta.
About our Guangzhou officeIn China, the first to file wins — not the first to use
China is a first-to-file jurisdiction. If you sell, manufacture or even just exhibit here without registering your trademarks, someone else can register them — and then legally stop you from using your own brand, or seize your goods at customs. IP protection in China is not optional housekeeping; it is a precondition to doing business.
Registration strategy
- Trademarks — word and device marks in the right classes and subclasses (China's subclass system defeats naive filings), plus Chinese-character versions of your brand before squatters create one for you
- Patents — invention, utility model and design patents; utility models are fast, cheap and underused by foreign companies
- Copyright recordal — voluntary but powerful evidence in enforcement actions
Enforcement
- Customs recordal (GACC) — have counterfeit shipments stopped at the border
- Administrative raids through local market supervision bureaus — faster and cheaper than litigation
- Civil litigation in China's specialised IP courts, including preliminary injunctions
- Bad-faith squatter actions — oppositions, invalidations and negotiated recoveries
Defensive hygiene for manufacturers
If a Chinese partner registers "your" trademark or files your design as their patent, your supply chain is hostage. We run clearance and watch services and build IP clauses into every OEM relationship.
Frequently asked questions
My trademark is registered in my home country. Am I protected in China?
No. Trademark rights are territorial. With narrow exceptions for well-known marks, a US/EU registration gives you nothing in China. File in China — including a Chinese-language version of your mark — before you manufacture, sell or exhibit here.
How long does Chinese trademark registration take?
Roughly 9–12 months from filing to registration if no oppositions arise. Examination takes about 4 months, followed by a 3-month publication period. We recommend filing before your first supplier engagement, not after.