Registering a mark in China is only half of the story

Most foreign brand owners treat the Chinese trademark system as a registration exercise: search, file, wait, collect the certificate. The Notice on Strengthening the Management of Trademark Use, issued by the Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in November 2025, is a reminder that a second set of expectations applies once a mark is used on goods, on packaging and in advertising. CNIPA's interpretation of the Notice, dated 30 December 2025, sets out seven categories of conduct that enforcement now focuses on. For a rights holder selling into China, it reads like a checklist of wording and presentation choices that Chinese authorities have already treated as problems.

The interpretation is a notice-level document: it describes enforcement priorities and illustrates them with matters already decided by local enforcement departments. It also addresses provincial IP authorities.

Unregistered marks that carry a deceptive claim

The first category covers unregistered marks whose wording misleads the public about a product, in three families.

The first family is supply-channel and quality language. Marks containing wording such as "exclusive supply", "special supply", "top quality" or "national" were found to mislead the public about how a product is supplied or how good it is — for example marks used on bottled water, on baijiu (Chinese spirits) and in restaurant services.

The second family is attribute claims. Marks containing "selenium-rich", "organic", "zero additive" or "100%" were treated as deceptive where the goods' actual attributes did not match the wording — the examples span apples, fresh vegetables, soy sauce and bread.

The third family is origin, date and process claims: place names, years, and words such as "handmade" or "hand-beaten". Five examples are given:

  • tiles sold under a mark referring to Rome, where the tiles did not come from Rome;
  • black tea sold under a mark naming 1837, where the tea was not produced in 1837 and the supplier was not established then — and where the mark's own English line, "THE FINEST TEAS OF THE WORLD", had no basis;
  • baijiu sold under a mark implying hand-brewing, where the spirit was not hand-brewed;
  • an iron wok sold under a mark implying hand-forging, where the wok was not hand-forged;
  • dried noodles sold under a mark implying hand-rolling, where the noodles were not hand-rolled.

In those matters the applications were refused on the ground that the marks were deceptive, and the parties using them were penalised by the local enforcement department where the conduct occurred.

When the registered mark itself is used deceptively

The second category turns on how a registered mark is presented. The first kind of conduct is combining a registered mark with a product name, advertising wording or packaging design so that the public misunderstands the quality, origin or production process of the goods. Two examples are cited: a mark registered for eggs used with wording suggesting free-range eggs, and a mark registered for vermicelli used with wording suggesting a protected geographical product. CNIPA declared both registrations invalid.

The second is altering the registered sign in use. Two examples are given: a registration for honey used with added wording about green, ecological and healthy production, which led the local enforcement department to impose an administrative penalty; and a registration for lubricating oil altered so that it approached an earlier mark owned by BP, which led to an order to correct the altered mark within seven days.

A third category sits alongside these: passing an unregistered mark off as a registered one. In the example, a party used an unregistered mark on a cosmetic product and added the registered symbol, ®, at the upper right of the sign — and continued to do so after an application to register that mark for cosmetics had been refused as deceptive. The party was penalised. For owners of foreign-language house marks, the point is that the ® symbol is not decorative: the action turned on it being attached to a sign not registered in China.

Where use of a registered mark is compulsory, and where it is restricted

Two further categories are not about deception. The fourth concerns goods on which a registered trademark must be used. Under China's tobacco monopoly rules, cigarettes, cigars, packaged cut tobacco and new-type tobacco products such as e-cigarettes fall into this group. The example is a party that owned two single-character registrations, "WX" and "YZ", combined them into the sign "WXYZ" on cigarettes it sold, and placed the registered symbol only on the "Z". The combined sign was treated as an unregistered mark used as if registered, and the party was penalised — a point worth noting by any producer that treats two short registrations as interchangeable with their combination.

The fifth category concerns the words "well-known trademark". Producers and operators may not use that wording on goods, on packaging or containers, or in advertising, exhibitions and other business activities. The interpretation explains that the well-known mark system exists to give special protection when a dispute arises over the filing or use of a mark, and that some businesses had treated the designation as an honour to be advertised. In the example, a party whose mark had been recognised used "China Well-Known Trademark" prominently on its website and social media to promote goods, and was penalised.

Collective marks, certification marks and agency conduct

The sixth category covers collective marks and certification marks. A set of rules for use and management, drawn up in accordance with the law, is a prerequisite for registration, and CNIPA publishes those rules as part of the registration particulars. The rules bind three groups: the registrant, the collective members, and the users of a certification mark. The interpretation lists what the rules must contain: the purpose of using the mark; the procedures, rights and obligations; the quality of goods under a collective mark, or the origin, materials, method of manufacture or other specific characteristics certified by a certification mark; the liability of members or users who breach the rules; and the registrant's inspection and supervision system. Both examples show the registrant answering for the conduct of others: the registrant of a certification mark for goji berries was summoned to a regulatory talk after users' goods failed the quality requirements, and the registrant of a certification mark for tea was ordered to correct its management after the mark was used on tea from outside the permitted production area.

The seventh category concerns trademark agencies, whose staff are expected to exercise a higher standard of care. The focus is on those who act for applicants engaged in malicious filing or malicious non-use cancellation. In the example, a party accepted instructions while knowing, or while it should have known, that the applicant had no intention of using the mark, and some marks concerned were deceptive or had adverse effects; enforcement was described as severe.

The interpretation closes with six work measures for the authorities: sound working mechanisms with market regulators, targeted screening, prompt handling of leads, compliance guidance, comprehensive governance including credit measures, and a favourable environment for correct use of trademark rights. These are directed at provincial IP authorities, and they indicate that the practical exposure for a rights holder lies in how the mark is presented in China, not only in whether the certificate is in order.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Notice apply only to Chinese companies?

No. The seven categories are described by reference to the conduct, not the party's nationality. The matters cited involve parties acting in the Chinese market, and a foreign rights holder whose goods are sold in China, packaged locally or advertised on Chinese platforms falls within the same descriptions.

What can go wrong if a registered mark is used with extra wording?

The interpretation gives the example of a mark registered for honey that was used with added wording about green, ecological and healthy production. The public was found to have misunderstood the goods' quality, and an administrative penalty followed. A second example, for lubricating oil, led to an order to correct the altered mark within seven days.

Is it a problem to add the ® symbol in China?

The third category answers this directly. In the cited example, the registered symbol was applied to an unregistered mark on a cosmetic product, and the party was penalised even after an application for that mark had been refused.

Which goods require a registered trademark to be used?

The interpretation points to China's tobacco monopoly rules and to cigarettes, cigars, packaged cut tobacco and new-type tobacco products such as e-cigarettes. In the cited example, a party that combined two separate registrations into a new sign on cigarettes, and marked only part of it as registered, was penalised.

Official sources

Related reading

If you are preparing packaging or advertising for the Chinese market and want the wording reviewed against CNIPA's published priorities, start with a search of the register and a fee estimate.