What if my trademark is refused/rejected in China?
If you entrusted a China trademark agency/attorney to submit the trademark registration application to the CTMO (China Trademark Office), once the mark is refused, the agency will forward you the official Notice of Refusal. Then, you shall do as follows:
1. Confirm the date of receiving the Notice of Refusal and the deadline of Review for(response to) Refusal. If there is any Chinese statutory holiday, the deadline will be influenced. (Generally, trademark Review for Refusal shall be filed within 15 days after receiving the Notice of Refusal. However, if the last day for Review is a national statutory holiday, the deadline will be postponed to the first workday after the holiday ends.)
2. Generally, the entrusted agency/attorney will give some advice/suggestion on the Refusal case. We suggest that you could find one or two more China trademark agencies/attorneys for advice to evaluate the success rate. (Different trademark agencies/attorneys have their own expertise and professional areas. It’s good for you to to make a more accurate judgment by getting advice or analysis from several agencies/attorneys.)
3. In China, the Review for Refusal must be filed within 15 days after receiving the Notice. And you’ll have 3 months to collect and submit the proofs to support the Review.
If you filed the trademark via Madrid System and designated China, namely international trademark, once the mark is refused and you received the official Notice of Refusal, you shall do as follows:
1. In general, the Review for Refusal must be filed within 15 days after receiving the Notice of Refusal. If the last day for Review is a national statutory holiday, the deadline will be postponed to the first workday after the holiday ends.
2. We suggest to entrust a professional and legalized China trademark agencies/attorneys to handle the Review cases. The agency/attorney will provide advice and analysis on the Refusal mark, estimate the success rate of Review and help you make the decision about filing the Review or not.
3. According to China Trademark Law, foreigners and foreign corporations, who want to file the Review for Refusal, must entrust a legalized China trademark agency/attorney to process all his trademark issues. Generally, the trademark applicant cannot file the Review application on his own in China.
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