Two doors into the same register
A foreign brand can reach a Chinese trademark registration two ways: file directly with CNIPA through a Chinese agent, or designate China through the Madrid Protocol.
Both routes end at the same register. The certificate looks the same. What differs is cost structure, whose clock you run on, and how much control you keep when something goes wrong.
The choice is not about which is better in the abstract. It is about which risks you would rather carry.
The two routes side by side
Direct CNIPA filing The application goes straight to CNIPA through a Chinese trademark agent. No prior home filing is required — only an intention to use. The official fee is RMB 270 per class for electronic filing, covering the first ten items, with RMB 27 for each additional item. Examination runs on CNIPA's clock, with a statutory outer limit of nine months and a current average of roughly four months.
Madrid designation of China You file an international application through your home office to WIPO, designating China. The application must be based on an existing home registration or a pending home application. WIPO charges a basic fee of CHF 653 for a black-and-white mark covering ten years, plus China's individual fee, which is CHF 220 for the first class and CHF 110 for each additional class.
Cost: where each route wins
For a single country, direct filing almost always wins on government fees. RMB 270 per class is strikingly low, and the Madrid route stacks WIPO's basic fee on top of China's individual fee before you have covered a single additional country.
The Madrid route pays off when you need China plus several other countries in one filing. One basic fee and one set of documents covers every designated member. If your filing plan is multi-country, the arithmetic changes completely; if China is the only country you need, Madrid is an expensive way to reach the same register.
Agency fees sit on top either way, and they are unavoidable for direct filings. A foreign applicant without residence or a place of business in China is required to use a Chinese trademark agent. Under Madrid, the same requirement applies to responding to any refusal — the response has to be filed through a Chinese agent.
Timeline: different clocks
A direct application runs on CNIPA's timeline: substantive examination with a current average of about four months and a statutory limit of nine, then a three-month publication window for oppositions. The full path from filing to certificate generally runs twelve to eighteen months.
A Madrid designation runs on WIPO-driven clocks. For territory-extension applications, CNIPA's deadline to notify a refusal is eighteen months from notification, or twelve months for certain international registrations. If no refusal arrives within the deadline, protection is deemed granted.
That silence is not automatically good news. A refusal may be issued and simply arrive later than you expect, and monitoring the status through your Chinese agent is still necessary.
One important nuance: CNIPA reports that examination of Madrid territory extensions now averages around four months, so most decisions arrive well before the deadline. The long deadline is a ceiling, not a realistic expectation.
The structural difference: dependence
This is the part that is easy to overlook and hard to fix later.
A direct Chinese application stands on its own. It lives or dies by its own examination, and nothing about your home mark affects it.
An international registration is anchored to its basic mark for the first five years. If the basic registration is surrendered, cancelled, abandoned or invalidated in that window — including cancellation for non-use — the international registration falls with it. This is the central attack.
The five-year window matters most for brands whose home mark is itself contested or vulnerable. A competitor who cancels your home registration can, in effect, take down your Chinese registration with it.
Mitigation exists, but it costs
If the international registration lapses after a central attack, it can be transformed into national applications in the designated members, retaining the international registration date. That preserves your priority position, but it means new filings, new fees and new agent work — at the worst possible moment, with a deadline attached.
A stable, uncontested home registration makes the Madrid route considerably safer. A home mark that is being challenged, or that is registered in a class you may not keep using, makes central attack a live risk rather than a theoretical one.
Handling refusals
The substantive fight is identical under both routes. What differs is the plumbing.
Under a direct filing, a refusal is answered through CNIPA's review system within fifteen days, filed by your Chinese agent, with access to the full range of evidence and argument and the division procedure for partial refusals.
Under a Madrid designation, a provisional refusal arrives via WIPO rather than directly. The response must still be filed within CNIPA's stated time limit and through a Chinese trademark agency. The arguments available are the same; the coordination is more layered, because WIPO sits between you and the examiner.
Practically, this means a Madrid refusal takes slightly longer to surface and requires the same local agent work as a direct filing. Madrid saves you nothing on prosecution effort — it only saves you paperwork at the filing stage, and only if you are filing in many countries.
Multi-class and multi-country math
Two variables drive the decision.
How many classes do you need? Direct filing charges RMB 270 per class plus RMB 27 per extra item. Madrid charges a China individual fee of CHF 220 for the first class and CHF 110 per additional class, on top of the WIPO basic fee. In a multi-class direct filing, the per-class cost stays low; in Madrid, China's individual fee is charged per class just as it would be directly, with the basic fee shared across all designated countries.
How many countries do you need? The basic fee is amortised across every designation. Designating ten countries spreads it well. Designating one does not.
A decision framework
File directly with CNIPA if: China is the only jurisdiction you need, or your filing plan is essentially China plus one or two countries. You want the shortest, most direct route with the fewest intermediaries. Your home mark is contested, unstable or registered in classes you might drop — in which case you want your Chinese registration independent of it.
Designate China through Madrid if: You are filing in several Madrid member countries at once and want one application, one set of documents and one fee structure. Your home registration is solid and you expect to keep it. You are already using Madrid as your standard filing mechanism and China is simply another designation.
Consider both if: You are building a portfolio where China is strategically central. Some brand owners keep the core classes direct, to insulate them from central attack, and reach other countries through Madrid. This costs more in fees and is worth it only where the independence is genuinely valuable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the central attack risk in a Madrid designation of China?
For five years from the international registration date, your international registration depends on your basic mark. If the basic registration is cancelled, surrendered, abandoned or invalidated in that window, the international registration falls with it, including the Chinese designation. Transformation into a national application is possible but adds cost and deadlines.
Is Madrid cheaper than filing directly in China?
For a single-country filing, no. WIPO's basic fee plus China's individual fee exceeds CNIPA's RMB 270 per class. Madrid becomes cheaper per country as you add more members, because the basic fee is shared across all designations.
How long does a Madrid designation of China take?
CNIPA's deadline to notify a refusal is eighteen months from notification for territory-extension applications, or twelve months for certain international registrations. In practice examination of Madrid extensions now averages around four months, so most decisions arrive well before the deadline.
Can I claim Paris Convention priority in China?
Yes, within six months of your first filing in a member state. The priority claim must be made at the time of the Chinese filing, not added later, and supporting documentation is required.
Do I still need a Chinese agent if I use Madrid?
Yes, for any refusal. A foreign applicant without residence or a place of business in China must respond to a CNIPA refusal through a Chinese trademark agency, regardless of whether the original filing was direct or through Madrid.
Does a Madrid designation cover all 45 classes automatically?
No. You designate the classes you want, and China's individual fee is charged per class. The specification is also examined under Chinese classification rules, so goods described for another jurisdiction may draw a provisional refusal requiring clarification.
Which route is better for a small brand with one product line?
Direct filing, in most cases. With one class and one country, Madrid's basic fee buys you nothing you need, and direct filing gives you an independent registration unexposed to central attack.
The right route depends on how many countries you are protecting and how stable your home registration is. If you are weighing Madrid against a direct Chinese filing, tell us your filing plan and we will compare the real cost and risk.