If you are registering a trademark in China from abroad, you will be asked to sign a Power of Attorney (POA). It is one page, it takes about two minutes to complete — and getting it wrong is one of the most common reasons a filing gets delayed.
This guide walks through every field on our POA form, in the order it appears.
What the Power of Attorney actually is
A POA is a short written authorisation that lets us act for you before the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Without it, CNIPA will not accept a filing from us on your behalf — there is no way around it, and there is no online substitute.
Two things are worth knowing before you start:
- It only covers the matters you tick. A POA for a new application does not cover an opposition or a renewal later on. Each matter needs its own authorisation.
- It does not transfer ownership. You remain the applicant and the owner of the mark. The POA only lets us file and correspond for you.
Field by field
1. Client name and country
The first line identifies you as the client and states the country or region you are from. Write your name exactly as you want it to appear on the CNIPA register — for a company, that is normally the full registered name including any legal suffix such as Ltd., GmbH or Inc.
This matters more than it looks. If your name is spelled differently here and on your business licence or certificate of incorporation, CNIPA can raise a discrepancy, and correcting it later costs time and official fees.
2. Entity type — individual, legal person, or other organisation
Tick the box that matches your legal status. Choose "legal person" for a company, "individual" for a sole proprietor or a natural person, and "other organisation" for partnerships, associations and similar bodies.
3. The trademark itself
Write the mark you are applying for. If it is a word mark, the word goes here. If it is a logo or a combined mark, the text portion goes here and the artwork is supplied separately as an image file.
4. The matters you are authorising
This is the checklist section. For a straightforward new filing, tick only the first box — Application for trademark registration. The remaining boxes cover later-stage work: oppositions and defences, changes of name or address, renewals, assignments, licence recordals, and revocations for non-use.
We pre-tick the application box and the two name-translation boxes for you. Everything else is left blank deliberately, so that you are only ever authorising what you actually need.
5. The Chinese translation of your name
Chinese trademark practice requires a Chinese-language version of the applicant name. You have two options:
- Write it yourself, if you already have an established Chinese name — useful when your brand has an official Chinese form that customers recognise.
- Let us produce it, by leaving the field blank and keeping the authorisation boxes ticked. We transliterate or translate the name and use that version consistently across the filing.
Whichever route you take, the same Chinese name will be used on the application, the register entry and every later document, so it is worth getting right the first time.
6. Name, address and signature
Give the full postal address of the applicant, then sign and stamp. The date field is at the bottom.
Common mistakes
Unsigned or undated. CNIPA treats a POA without a signature as not filed. If the form comes back for this, the filing waits for the next round of correspondence.
A name that does not match the incorporation document. As above, small variations cause official queries.
A personal signature where a company seal is expected. Either is generally acceptable, but be consistent with what your other CNIPA documents show.
Scanning at very low resolution. A page that cannot be read clearly will be rejected. 300 dpi, colour, straight-on, whole page in frame — that is all it takes.
How to return the signed form
Print the PDF, complete it by hand or typed, sign and stamp it, then scan the whole page and send the scan back by email. We do not need the physical original. A clear scan is enough to file, and the original stays with you.
If anything on the form is unclear for your particular situation — a group structure, a trust, a name that has recently changed — send us the details before you sign, and we will tell you how to complete that field. It is much faster than correcting a filing afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to notarise or legalise the Power of Attorney?
No. For trademark purposes CNIPA does not require notarisation, legalisation or an apostille on a POA. A signed and stamped form is sufficient — no consular fees, no waiting.
Can I sign the Power of Attorney electronically?
A wet signature or company seal on a printed copy is what CNIPA expects. Electronic signatures are not reliably accepted, so print, sign and scan.
Does the Power of Attorney need to be in Chinese?
No. Our form is bilingual, with every field shown in both Chinese and English, so you can complete the English side and leave the Chinese side to us.
Is the Power of Attorney valid for more than one application?
No. Each application needs its own authorisation covering the specific mark and matter. A POA signed for one filing cannot be reused for a different mark or a different type of proceeding.
How long does the Power of Attorney stay valid?
It stays effective for the matter it authorises. It does not expire on a calendar date, but it also does not carry over to new matters — a renewal six years later will need a fresh POA.
What happens if I make a mistake on the form?
Cross it out, write the correction next to it, and initial the change. Do not use correction fluid. If a field is badly wrong, it is simpler to print a fresh copy and start again.
Need the form? Download it below, or request one by email and we will send it with the fields pre-filled for your case.