A Chinese trademark registration lasts ten years. Then it stops. Not "expires with a warning" — on the day the term ends without a renewal on file, the registration is cancelled outright, and the mark you have been building for a decade goes back into the pool where anyone can file it.
This is the cheapest risk in the whole trademark lifecycle to eliminate, and one of the most commonly missed. The reason is structural rather than careless: ten years is longer than most people stay in a job. The person who filed the application has usually moved on by the time the renewal comes due, and nobody inherits the date.
The rule, precisely
Under Article 40 of the China Trademark Law and Article 33 of the Implementing Regulations:
- A registration is valid for ten years from the date of registration approval (核准注册之日).
- Renewal may be filed within the twelve months before expiry.
- If that window is missed, there is a six-month grace period after expiry, on payment of a late fee.
- Each renewal is valid for another ten years, counted from the day after the previous term ends — not from the renewal date.
- If no renewal is filed by the end of the grace period, the registration is cancelled.
That last line is the whole article. There is no reinstatement procedure, no appeal, no "we meant to file". The registration is gone, and the only route back is a fresh application — which now has to survive examination all over again, in a class where your own decade-old mark no longer blocks anyone.
One detail that catches foreign owners: for marks approved through opposition, the term runs from the date the three-month opposition period closed (Article 36), not from the original application date. If your file was opposed, check the registration certificate rather than assuming ten years from filing.
The dates, with numbers
Assuming a registration approved on 1 June 2016:
- Normal renewal window — 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027. The twelve months before expiry. Official fee RMB 450 per class online, 500 on paper.
- Grace period — 1 June 2027 to 30 November 2027. Six months after expiry, with the late fee added: RMB 225 per class online, 250 on paper.
- Cancelled — from 1 December 2027. No further route back.
Note the renewal window opens twelve months before expiry, not on the expiry date. Owners who wait for a reminder at the ten-year mark are already inside the window and, in practice, already late relative to a comfortable filing schedule.
What it costs
The official fees are set by CNIPA and are low; this is not a cost-driven decision.
- Official renewal registration fee. RMB 500 per class on paper, RMB 450 per class for an online filing with electronic service.
- Late fee, grace period only. RMB 250 per class on paper, RMB 225 per class online, in addition to the renewal fee.
So a single-class renewal filed on time costs RMB 450 in official fees, and the same renewal filed in the grace period costs RMB 675. The late fee is a rounding error next to the value of the registration. Do not let it be the reason a mark lapses.
Filing is per class. A mark registered in five classes costs five times the fee and requires five renewals in one application. If your portfolio covers many classes, the arithmetic matters more than the per-class number suggests.
Renewal is not re-examination
A point foreign counsel often ask about: renewal in China is a procedural act. CNIPA does not re-examine the mark for distinctiveness, does not re-check for conflicting prior rights, and does not review whether the mark is still in use. Provided the applicant details match the register and the fee is paid, renewal is granted.
Two consequences:
- Good news. A registration that has become vulnerable — weak distinctiveness, a mark now similar to a later filing — is safe on renewal. Renewal cannot be refused on those grounds.
- Bad news. Renewal also does not fix anything. A mark registered in the wrong class, or with a defective specification, stays exactly as defective after renewal as before. The ten-year renewal is the natural moment to review the portfolio and file additional applications where the original was too narrow.
The use question
Here is where foreign owners most often go wrong: renewal does not require proof of use, but that does not mean use is irrelevant. The two obligations are separate and both are live.
- Renewal is a pure formality. File it and pay, and the registration continues.
- Non-use cancellation (撤三) allows any third party to cancel a registration that has not been used in China for three consecutive years, at any time during the term.
So a mark can be renewed on time, every ten years, and still be cancelled in year seven because it was never used in China. Renewing protects the term; use protects the right. A foreign brand that registered defensively in China, does not sell there, and simply renews on schedule is holding a registration that a competitor can remove whenever it becomes inconvenient for them.
If a registration is genuinely unused, the renewal decision should be made deliberately: either put the mark into use in China, or accept that the registration is a temporary placeholder rather than an asset.
What the filing requires
For a straightforward renewal before a Chinese agent:
- Renewal application form (商标续展注册申请书). Must be machine-printed — handwritten forms are not accepted.
- Applicant identity documents — for a foreign company, a copy of the certificate of incorporation or equivalent, and the Chinese translation where the document is in a foreign language.
- Copy of the registration certificate, or the registration number so the register entry can be identified.
- Power of attorney, where a Chinese agent files.
- Fee payment for each class being renewed.
Foreign applicants must file through a CNIPA-registered Chinese agent — there is no self-filing route for a foreign entity without a habitual residence or place of business in China. This is the same requirement that applies at application stage.
Where several registrations share the same owner and expiry date, they can be combined into a single renewal application, with registration numbers separated by semicolons. This reduces paperwork but not the per-class fee.
How to not miss it
The failure mode is not disagreement about the rule; it is that nobody owns the date. Practical safeguards:
1. Build a renewal calendar at filing stage, not at year nine. When a China application is approved, the ten-year date should be entered in the same system that tracks your other jurisdictions. Ten years is long enough that any manual process will fail.
2. Renew on receipt of the certificate if it helps. Nothing prevents early calendar entry; the filing itself cannot be made more than twelve months ahead.
3. Renew the whole portfolio in one review. If your marks expire in clusters, one annual portfolio review catches them together, rather than triggering a scramble per mark.
4. Ask the agent who holds the file. If you filed through a Chinese agent a decade ago and that relationship has lapsed, the new agent will need the registration numbers. Recovering them from CNIPA is possible but slow; keeping the certificate on file is faster.
5. Decide about unused marks before expiry, not after. The renewal decision is the natural point to ask whether the registration is worth ten more years — particularly given the non-use cancellation risk above.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a trademark valid in China?
Ten years from the date of registration approval. Each renewal extends it by a further ten years, counted from the day after the previous term expires.
When can I renew a Chinese trademark?
In the twelve months before the expiry date. If that window is missed, a six-month grace period is available after expiry on payment of a late fee.
What happens if I miss the renewal deadline in China?
If no renewal is filed by the end of the six-month grace period, the registration is cancelled. There is no reinstatement procedure, and the only way to recover the right is to file a fresh application.
How much does it cost to renew a trademark in China?
The official fee is RMB 450 per class for an online filing and RMB 500 per class for paper. In the grace period a late fee of RMB 225 (online) or RMB 250 (paper) is added per class. Agent fees are separate.
Does renewal require proof of use?
No. Renewal in China is a procedural act and CNIPA does not re-examine the mark or require evidence of use. But a registration unused for three consecutive years remains vulnerable to non-use cancellation regardless of renewal — the two obligations are independent.
Is there a grace period for Chinese trademark renewal?
Yes, six months after expiry, on payment of a late fee. Once the grace period ends without a filing, the registration is cancelled.
Can a foreign company renew a Chinese trademark without a local agent?
No. A foreign applicant without a habitual residence or place of business in China must file through a CNIPA-registered Chinese trademark agent.
How far in advance should I start the renewal?
Practically, at least three to six months before expiry. The statutory window opens twelve months ahead, and starting early leaves room for the applicant documents and translation to be assembled without pressure.
Holding a Chinese registration that is approaching the end of its term, or unsure which of your marks are still in force? We run renewal and portfolio reviews for foreign brand owners.