How Chinese Trademark Agencies Are Recorded, and Why It Matters to Foreign Owners

Q: How long does it take, and what does it cost?

CNIPA reviews agency recording materials within **fifteen working days** from receipt. **No fee is payable** for trademark agency recording. The result is notified by email, and where a recording, change or cancellation is successful, the information can also be found on the CNIPA trademark website.

Introduction: why you should care who is on the record

A foreign brand owner choosing a Chinese trademark agency is making a decision that affects every filing, every deadline and every notice for years. Most owners make it on the basis of a recommendation, a price, or a relationship. There is also an objective test available: whether the firm is recorded as a trademark agency with CNIPA, and what the record says.

This article explains the recording system, because understanding it is the basis for verifying that the firm acting for you is properly constituted and actually responsible for your file.

The recording system

A trademark agency operating in China is required to be recorded with CNIPA. The recording covers the firm's establishment, its responsible person, its registered address, and the trademark agency practitioners it employs.

The recording is not a licence in the sense of a practising certificate issued to individuals. It is a registration of the organisation and of the practitioners who carry on business within it, and it is the basis on which the firm becomes able to file through the online system.

What the office requires of a recorded agency

The requirements attach to both the firm and its people.

The responsible person. In the recording form, the responsible person must match the legal representative or responsible person shown in the supporting identity documents. For an enterprise, that is the legal representative; for a law firm, it is the responsible person of the firm.

Practitioners. A trademark agency practitioner must be law-abiding, of good credit standing and good character, familiar with trademark law and regulations, and capable of carrying on trademark agency business in accordance with law.

Two specific restrictions apply. A practitioner may not carry on trademark agency business at two or more trademark agencies at the same time. And persons who have resigned or retired from CNIPA, the Patent Office, the Trademark Office or an examination cooperation unit may not, within a prescribed period, act as a partner, shareholder or legal representative of a trademark agency, or work at one.

Capability evidence. Where a practitioner is assigned by the firm to handle trademark agency business on behalf of a client, the firm is expected to satisfy itself that the practitioner is familiar with trademark law and capable of doing the work. Supporting materials may include legal qualification certificates, intellectual property professional titles, or patent agent qualification certificates. These are optional, and practitioners may complete the field as appropriate.

The last point is worth reflecting on. The capability requirement is largely self-certified at the level of the firm. That is precisely why a foreign owner should verify a firm's record rather than relying on the recording alone to guarantee quality.

Bringing the recording up to date

A firm's circumstances change, and the recording must follow. Four transaction types exist.

New recording. A firm accesses the online service system through the trademark online application section of the CNIPA trademark website and files a trademark agency recording application.

Change of recording. The firm logs in to the online service system and selects the agency change application.

Renewal of recording. The firm selects the agency renewal application.

Cancellation of recording. The firm selects the agency cancellation application. A firm that is not a user of the trademark online service system files through the agency recording cancellation application channel.

There is also a specific route for a firm that has previously been recorded and wishes to resume trademark agency business. It should file a fresh recording in good time, using the previously recorded agency route in the online system.

Cancellation filings may also be made by post, using forms downloadable from the trademark agency section of the CNIPA trademark website.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

CNIPA reviews agency recording materials within fifteen working days from receipt.

No fee is payable for trademark agency recording.

The result is notified by email, and where a recording, change or cancellation is successful, the information can also be found on the CNIPA trademark website.

Service of documents on the agency, and why it matters to you

This is the part of the recording system with direct consequences for a foreign client.

Where CNIPA documents are served on a trademark agency by post, service is effective when the documents reach the agency's address. Where the agency has separately specified a service address, service is effective when the documents reach the confirmed address.

And here is the operative sentence: where the agency's service address changes and it fails to file a change of service address in good time, CNIPA will serve documents at the original address, and that is deemed lawful service.

For a foreign owner, this means the agency's recorded service address is the address at which your deadlines start running. An agency that has moved offices without updating the record has created a gap in which notices can be deemed served on an address nobody occupies.

Where an agency files electronic applications through the online system, subsequent documents are served in accordance with the user agreement for the trademark online service system. That concentrates the position in the online system, which is faster but depends on the agency actually monitoring it.

Verifying the delay and connection requirements

Two practical points that surface when a firm is not properly recorded.

An agency that has completed its recording but wishes to conduct business through online filing must first apply for and obtain a digital certificate before it can file through the online system. A newly recorded firm without a digital certificate cannot file online, whatever its recording status.

And the online filing system has environment requirements — historically browsers of IE9.0 and above, at a screen resolution of 1280x768 or higher. Applicants and agencies encountering problems receiving verification codes are advised to check the email address on record, check spam and draft folders, and prefer commonly used mail providers. Verification codes are valid for thirty minutes.

These are technical details, but they explain a category of delay that foreign owners experience without understanding: a competent firm that is not yet able to file, and a client wondering why nothing has been submitted.

How a foreign owner should use this

The recording system is a verification tool. Three checks before appointing a firm, and periodically afterwards:

Confirm the firm appears in the CNIPA record.
Confirm the recorded service address is current, and ask the firm to confirm it in writing.
Confirm the practitioners who will handle your file understand that the firm's recorded address governs service of your documents.

The third item is not a formality. Where a foreign owner has suffered a missed deadline, the recorded service address is frequently where the answer lies.

Frequently asked questions

Do Chinese trademark agencies have to be recorded with CNIPA?

Yes. A trademark agency must be recorded with CNIPA, covering the firm's establishment, its responsible person and address, and the trademark agency practitioners it employs.

Is there a fee for agency recording?

No. No fee is payable for trademark agency recording.

How long does CNIPA take to review a recording?

Fifteen working days from receipt of the recording materials. The result is notified by email and, where successful, appears on the CNIPA trademark website.

How do I check whether a firm is recorded?

The information can be found on the CNIPA trademark website where the recording, change or cancellation has been successful. Verification is a general search rather than a requirement to ask the firm.

Can one practitioner work at two agencies?

No. A trademark agency practitioner may not carry on trademark agency business at two or more trademark agencies at the same time.

What happens if the agency does not update its service address?

CNIPA will serve documents at the original address, and that is deemed lawful service. This is why a recorded service address should be confirmed as current and reviewed periodically.

Why can a properly recorded agency still be unable to file?

Because online filing requires a digital certificate, which must be applied for and obtained separately. A newly recorded firm without one cannot file through the online system even though its recording is complete.

What are the requirements for agency practitioners?

Practitioners must be law-abiding, of good credit standing and good character, familiar with trademark law, and capable of carrying on agency business. Supporting evidence such as legal qualifications or IP titles is submitted at the firm's and practitioner's discretion.