China is world’s leading market of world with the monstrous potential of sale by a big customer class and it matters if you register trademark in China. We have compiled some enough reasons to believe this. So here they are:
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To Prevent infringement of your Trademark.
The problem of someone else registering your brand in China is a common one, because of China’s first to file trade mark registration system. The main reasons a person may register your trade mark in China includes:
- a genuine need to use that trade mark for their products or services;
- intent to produce replicas of your products;
- ill-intent to sell you the right to use the trade mark.
The one exception to the first to file rule is that if you need to prove that someone else done trade mark registration in bad faith. In very rare instances, one might be able to recover the trade mark which will be very costly and time consuming.
China is also leader in e-commerce and you need to take down infringing listings on Chinese e-commerce sites. In order to remove the infringing listing from the domestic website of China you require a Chinese Trade Mark Registration. If you are having a trademark registration in other countries such as India, United States or some other jurisdiction outside the territory of China, you are only able to submit takedown requests to foreign-facing sites like Alibaba but not domestic websites.
It is submitted as per Chinese law that most of e-commerce or social networking sites require a Chinese trademark registration and every site will take action if you have Chinese trademark else the infringing listing will continue to be listed there.
So the question is that Are you really wanting to spend your time arguing with these website? or After the knowing this fact now do you really want to take the risk of having someone selling products with your name on them all around the world or in China?
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To start selling or for future selling plans in China
Even though you’re not selling goods in China, you might want to sell in future. As we all know without any doubts that China is the biggest market in the world, with monstrous market with a rapidly growing base of consumer class.
As per current Chinese IP Law governing trademark application of foreign, it takes at least a year from the trademark application date to the registration date. So, you can start you application now as having a trademark registration in hand will make it easy for you to enter the Chinese market gates.
Chinese law does not recognize trademarks by common-law practice and only has minimal recognition for “famous and prior user” marks and if you want to sell goods in China without having trademark registration, then there is almost absolute chance someone else will register your trademark in China and come after you for trademark infringement. So it is recommended that you should register your trademarks and register the Chinese-language version of your trademarks, too.
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To get Chinese Customs seize goods infringing your trademark.
The only way to have Chinese Customs seize infringing goods is to get your trademark registered in China, If you want to have counterfeit goods seized by Chinese Customs. A foreign trademark has no relevance in China with few exceptions and it means nothing to Chinese Customs. So, it’s another reason to have your trademark registered in China.
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To invoke your Trademark Rights and sue in court for Infringement in China
You will be laughed out of court, If you attempt to file a lawsuit in China for trademark infringement without owning the trademark in China.
To invoke your trademark rights and file a lawsuit in China against notorious counterfeiters you need Chinese Trademark else you do not have any trademark rights in China. Surprisingly fact is that how often Chinese IP lawyers are hired to sue Chinese company for the trademark infringement, just to discover that the company has no China trademark and hence there’s no basis for a claim of trademark infringement.