An overseas invoice, a translated website page and an apostilled company document answer different questions. One may show a sale, another a dated public presentation, and the last the formal origin of a document. Stamping the bundle does not make every claim in it proved.

The 2021 Trademark Examination and Adjudication Guidelines, Part I, Chapter 1, section 4.1, requires Chinese-language application materials and translations of foreign-language supporting material. For disputes, the Trademark Review Rules add evidence-specific requirements. This article combines that framework with later document-authentication developments, checked on 26 October 2026; it does not apply every 2021 formality unchanged.

Start with the fact to prove

Our recommendation is to build the evidence schedule around the legal issue. For example, evidence for a distributor's knowledge should connect the counterparty to the brand before its filing date. Evidence of trademark use needs to connect the sign, relevant goods or services, user, period and territory. A foreign registration certificate does not, by itself, establish all those matters.

Keep a working index with a document identifier, date, issuer or source, relevant pages and the fact relied on. Connect an order with its invoice, shipment and corresponding product presentation where available. Identify gaps rather than imply that a single document proves the entire chain.

Chinese translations are part of the evidence submission

Article 42 of the Trademark Review Rules requires Chinese translations of foreign-language documentary evidence and explanations; material without the translation is treated as not submitted. It also provides a process for disputes over the translation.

Our preparation recommendation: preserve the original beside a clearly mapped Chinese version. Keep names, dates, currencies, product references and qualifications consistent. Mark omissions or illegible text openly. The English translation supplied for MY CNTM's intake and POA preparation is not a replacement for the Chinese material needed in the official proceeding.

The translation guide and applicant-name correction case address different translation risks; do not confuse a legal applicant name with a chosen Chinese brand.

Not every overseas document needs the same authentication

Article 41 of the Review Rules addresses formalities for evidence formed outside mainland China where authenticity is challenged with supporting evidence or the authority considers the steps necessary. That should not be paraphrased as a blanket demand for consular legalisation of every foreign invoice.

China's Apostille Convention implementation began on 7 November 2023. For qualifying public documents within the Convention's applicable operation between the relevant states, an apostille replaces the consular legalisation step. Check the country relationship, document category and receiving authority; not every private business document is itself a qualifying public document. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan materials require their respective procedural assessment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that an apostille verifies the relevant signature or seal, not the truth or lawfulness of the document's contents. It therefore does not establish sales, reputation or rights merely because the attached document asserts them.

Keep authenticity and evidential weight separate

The Review Rules distinguish checks on individual evidence from assessment of the evidence as a whole. Originals, relevance, lawful source, accuracy and the provider's connection to the parties can matter. In a contested case, exchange and challenge of the evidence also matter.

Our preparation recommendation: retain original files and metadata, full-page captures with the source URL and collection date, and the underlying transaction documents. A screenshot's collection date should not be presented as proof of when its contents were first published. Explain how the evidence relates to the date and territory required by the particular ground.

A practical package to discuss with the handling agent

Before commissioning translations or authentication, send the agent an inventory of originals, intended facts, countries of origin and relevant deadlines. Agree which documents need which formalities and whether further originals may be requested. Keep the evidence deadline separate from the time needed to obtain an apostille or translation: beginning those steps does not extend a procedural time limit.

For the distinction between initial non-use responses and review supplementation, see our filing traps FAQ. For electronic submission and physical evidence, see the evidence FAQ.

Official sources

Frequently asked questions

Is my English evidence enough for the Chinese review proceeding?

Foreign-language evidence needs the required Chinese translation. An English intake document is not a substitute for the official Chinese submission.

Does an apostille prove the commercial facts stated in the document?

No. It concerns the relevant signature or seal rather than establishing the truth of the underlying commercial assertions.

Must every overseas invoice be consularly legalised?

There is no blanket instruction to that effect in the cited review rule. Assess the evidence, any authenticity issue, applicable treaties and the receiving authority's requirements.