Guidance

Factsheet on Bad-faith Trade marks in China

Bad-faith trade mark applications is the most common business irritant reported to the British Embassy in Beijing.

• From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
• Published: 22 August 2016
• Last updated: 9 April 2021 — See all updates

Documents

Bad-faith Trade Marks in China factsheet

PDF, 541 KB, 5 pages

Details

China has a widespread and systemic problem with bad-faith trade mark applications. Bad-faith applicants in China target both domestic and international brands, seeking to extract payment to transfer marks (“trade mark squatting”) or to piggy-back on the reputation of established brands. The issue of Bad-faith trade mark applications is the single most common business irritant reported to the British Embassy in Beijing, affecting hundreds of marks each year across all industry sectors.

Return to the UK-China IP Webpage

Published 22 August 2016

Last updated 9 April 2021 + show all updates

1. 9 April 2021

   Updated new version

2. 6 December 2019

   Updated Factsheet on Bad-faith Trade marks in China

3. 18 September 2017

   Updated.

4. 24 March 2017

   Updated

5. 22 August 2016

   First published.