How to Check Whether Your Trademark Is Available in China

Before you file a trademark application in China, one question decides whether the next twelve months go smoothly or end in a refusal: is this mark already taken, or too close to something that is?

China's register is the busiest in the world. Around ten million applications are filed every year, and the examination standard for similarity is stricter than in most jurisdictions. Two marks that would comfortably coexist in the United States or the EU can collide in China.

This guide explains how the search works, how CNIPA decides that two marks are too similar, and what to do about the answer.

Where the data comes from

China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) publishes its register through the China Trademark Office (CTMO) online search system. You can search by mark text, by application or registration number, by applicant name, or by class.

It is free and open to anyone, including foreign applicants. What it is not is a similarity search engine — it returns what you ask for. If you search for AURORA, it will not tell you that AURORAH and ARORA were registered last year in your class. That judgement is still made by a person.

There is also a blind period (盲期) you cannot search around. Applications are published only after preliminary examination, roughly four to six months after filing. During that window, a competing application that will block yours is invisible to every search, including ours.

How CNIPA decides two marks are similar

Chinese examination practice distinguishes several kinds of conflict. Knowing which one applies tells you how much room you have.

Identical marks in the same class

The clearest case. Same word, same class, same goods. There is no argument to make — the later application will be refused. Your options are to choose a different mark or to buy or license the registration from its owner.

Similar marks — sound, appearance, meaning

This is where most refusals happen, and where the reasoning is worth understanding. CNIPA's examiners assess similarity on three axes:

Sound (音). If the marks are pronounced alike in Chinese or in the language of the relevant public, they can be held similar even when the spelling differs. MAYSU and MEISU are close in sound; so are marks that share a Chinese transliteration.
Appearance (形). For word marks, similar visual structure — shared beginnings or endings, one or two letters of difference, common prefixes. For device marks, the overall visual impression rather than any single element.
Meaning (义). Marks that mean the same thing are similar even when they look and sound nothing alike. A Chinese word mark and its English translation are the classic example: if your Chinese name means "sunrise" and someone owns 日出 in the same class, your literal translation is exposed.

The examiner weighs the impression as a whole. Noticeable conceptual differences can save a mark that shares two letters; a strong conceptual overlap can sink a mark that looks quite different.

Similar goods and services — the cross-class problem

Similarity is not decided purely by class number. CNIPA uses the Nice Classification plus its own sub-classification table, and it will find goods related across classes when they travel through the same channels or are used together.

Filing in class 25 for clothing does not automatically clear you to file in class 18 for leather goods — those are commonly held related. A registration in class 9 covering software can block an application in class 42 covering software services. Searching only your own class is the single most common mistake we see from applicants who search on their own.

If your mark will be used on more than one line of goods, search every class you actually intend to use, then add the classes CNIPA tends to link to them.

Well-known marks get wider protection

A well-known mark (驰名商标) enjoys protection beyond its own class, including against marks that are not similar but take unfair advantage of its reputation. If your mark imitates a famous brand in any field, an absence of conflicting registrations in your class is not the reassurance it looks like.

The parts of the register that trip people up

Dead marks

A registration that has lapsed, been surrendered or been cancelled is not necessarily a free path. If a confusingly similar mark was recently in use or recently cancelled, CNIPA may still refuse your application on the basis of the earlier mark's residual reputation, or because a fresh application by the same owner is pending.

More importantly, an application refused five years ago can be refiled today and succeed — the blocking registration may have since lapsed. Search status history, not just current status.

Pending applications

An application still in examination is not yet a registered right, but it is a prior filing date. It will block you if it proceeds to registration. Search pending applications as carefully as registered marks; the database shows both.

Your own earlier applications

If you already own a similar mark, your new application can be refused over your own registration in some circumstances. Check your own portfolio in the same class before filing, and consider whether a fresh application in a different class genuinely stands clear.

Reading the search result

For each potentially conflicting entry, look at four things:

Status. Registered, pending, refused, cancelled, expired. Only registered and pending marks can block you.
Class and goods. Read the actual goods list, not just the class number.
Owner. A large portfolio holder behaves differently from a one-off private applicant — the first will defend, the second may be open to an assignment.
Filing date. Earlier dates matter more than earlier registration dates.

What to do when the register is crowded

Finding a conflict is not the end of the road. In practice the responses are:

Adjust the mark. A different word, an added distinctive element, or a change of transliteration can clear the path. This is cheapest before filing and impossible afterwards.

Narrow the specification. If the conflict covers part of your goods, filing a narrower specification sometimes avoids the citation.

File anyway and argue. Where the similarity is arguable, an application with a well-reasoned argument at examination can succeed. This is a real strategy, but it costs months.

Buy or license the blocking right. Straightforward when the owner is a private party who is not using the mark. Expensive when the owner is a large brand with an active enforcement programme.

Choose a class you can actually use. If the conflict is only in a class you do not genuinely need, file where you are clear.

Why a self-search is not the same as a clearance search

A free CNIPA search tells you what is on the register. A clearance search tells you what risk you are carrying, which requires judgement about how an examiner will read your mark against each conflict, and about which registrations the owner actually enforces.

For a single-class word mark with a distinctive invented name, a careful self-search may be enough. For a crowded class, a mark close to a well-known brand, or a portfolio filing across several classes, an assessed search before you file is worth far more than the filing fee — because the cost of a refusal is not the official fee, it is the year you lose.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file a trademark in China without a search first?

Legally, yes — CNIPA does not require a search. Practically, filing blind into the world's busiest register is the most expensive way to learn whether a mark is available.

Is the CNIPA search database free to use?

Yes. CNIPA's online search is free and open to foreign users. There is no paid tier that contains more data; the difference between a free search and a professional one is the analysis, not the database.

What is the blind period (盲期) in Chinese trademark search?

It is the gap between filing and publication, normally four to six months, during which pending applications do not yet appear in the searchable database. No search can see inside it, which is why even a clean search carries some residual risk.

How similar is too similar in China?

There is no percentage threshold. Examiners assess the marks as a whole on sound, appearance and meaning, in relation to the goods and services claimed. Marks sharing two of those three elements, in the same or related classes, are usually cited.

Can two companies own the same trademark in China?

Yes, if they operate in unrelated classes or unrelated goods that CNIPA does not consider similar. The same word mark can be registered by different owners in different classes, and each has rights only within its own scope.

Do I need to search all 45 classes?

Search every class you intend to use, plus the classes CNIPA commonly treats as related to them. Searching all 45 is unnecessary; searching only one is where applicants get caught.