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China Trademark Refusal Review

A refused application is not the end of the road — but the window to appeal is only fifteen days from the day you receive the notice, and missing it makes the refusal final.

$299 all-inclusive

Appeal a Refusal

15 days

From receipt of the refusal notice

9 months

Typical CNIPA decision period

USD 299

All-inclusive, official fee included

In writing

Document-based, no hearing

What a Chinese trademark refusal review involves

When the CNIPA refuses an application, it issues a written refusal notice and the clock starts. The applicant may apply for review within fifteen days of receiving that notice. If the deadline passes without a review application, the refusal becomes final and the application is effectively lost — the way forward would be a fresh filing, at the cost of the original filing date.

Refusals in China fall into a few recurring families, and they call for different arguments. The most common is conflict with an earlier mark cited by the examiner: the review then turns on whether the two marks are actually confusingly similar, and on the class and goods overlap. Others are lack of distinctiveness — a mark that is descriptive or generic in its class — and absolute prohibitions, such as marks that are deceptive or contrary to public order.

Two things decide most reviews. The first is what can be done about the cited mark. If the earlier registration is vulnerable — unused for three years, or registered in bad faith — the strongest review is often filed alongside a cancellation or invalidation action against that mark, with a request that the review be held over until the other case is decided. The second is evidence: proof of use, market presence and, where both sides are willing, a coexistence agreement with the cited mark’s owner. Evidence does not decide the case on its own, but a review without it is arguing on the papers alone.

A foreign applicant with no place of business in China cannot file the review directly — it must go through an agent registered with the CNIPA. We assess the refusal first and tell you honestly whether the review is worth the money, including the cases where the better answer is to amend the application or refile.

What the $299 review fee covers

Reading the refusal properly We work through the refusal notice and the cited marks, and separate the objections that can be answered from the ones that cannot.

A strategy, not just a filing Where the cited mark can be attacked, we tell you what that costs and how it fits with the review; where a coexistence agreement is realistic, we say so.

Grounds drafted in Chinese The review application argues your case on the facts and the law — not a template with your number inserted.

Evidence assembly We tell you which evidence helps, how to present it and what to translate, then prepare the filing set.

Filing and follow-up We file inside the fifteen-day window and report the CNIPA decision to you with the next step, whichever way it goes.

English-language handling One point of contact in English for the whole file, including any evidence you need to gather from your own records.

The fee is all-inclusive for the standard scope above: the CNIPA official fee is already inside the price and is never billed separately.

How the review runs

Send us the refusal notice

The notice, the application number and the cited marks. If you only have a screenshot or a scan, that is enough for us to start — but do not sit on it, because the deadline runs from receipt.

We assess and advise

We tell you what the examiner objected to, what grounds the review can realistically run, and what the cited marks would cost to attack. If the review is weak, we say so.

We draft, assemble and file

The review application, the grounds and the evidence go in as one set, filed with the CNIPA inside the fifteen-day window.

You get the decision

The CNIPA decides within roughly nine months, extendable by three. We report the outcome and, if it goes the wrong way, set out the remaining options including a fresh filing.

Refusal review fees

All fees are quoted in writing before anything is payable.

Item	Fee	What it covers
Review of a refused application	USD 299	Grounds analysis, strategy on the cited marks, drafting, evidence assembly, filing inside the window and follow-up to the decision. All-inclusive.
Cancellation of a blocking earlier mark	USD 199	Where the cited registration is unused or vulnerable, a non-use cancellation filed alongside the review is often what unlocks the case.
Refile instead	USD 199	If the review is not worth running, a fresh application in a narrowed class is sometimes the cheaper route. We tell you when that is the honest answer.

Every price above is all-inclusive — the CNIPA official fees are already inside the quoted amounts and are never billed separately.

The time limits described on this page were checked on 2026-10-01. Procedural periods can change, and the rules in force at the time of your filing apply — always check the date on the notice itself.

What you need to file a review

The refusal notice is the essential document; everything else depends on the ground the examiner relied on. Nothing has to be notarized — clean scans are enough.

The refusal notice The CNIPA notice refusing the application, or your agent’s summary of it. The date you received it drives the fifteen-day deadline, so send it to us the day it arrives.

The application details The application number and the class or goods concerned. Where only part of the application was refused, the review is directed at the refused items.

Evidence of use and reputation Sales figures, invoices, contracts, advertising, platform listings, packaging — whatever shows the mark in use. Most useful where distinctiveness is the issue, or where the applicant has used the mark before the cited filing date.

Anything you have from the other side Correspondence, a coexistence agreement, or a consent letter from the owner of the cited mark. Helpful to have in hand when we assess the case, though the CNIPA still makes its own assessment of confusion.

Signed Power of Attorney A foreign applicant without a business presence in China must act through a CNIPA-registered agent. We send our standard form — a plain signed scan is enough, no notarization.

China Trademark Refusal Review — common questions

How long do I have to appeal a Chinese trademark refusal?

Fifteen days from the date you receive the refusal notice — not from the date on the notice itself. That window is short and it does not extend for foreign applicants, so the notice should come to us the day it lands. Missing it leaves the refusal standing and a fresh filing as the only route.

What are my chances of winning a review?

It depends almost entirely on the ground. Where the objection is conflict with a cited mark that is unused or vulnerable to cancellation, the odds are decent — especially if the citation can be cleared away. Where the mark is genuinely descriptive of the goods, a review rarely fixes it, and we will tell you that rather than take the fee.

Can I use a coexistence agreement with the other trademark owner?

It can help, but it is not decisive. The CNIPA assesses confusion for itself, and an agreement between the parties does not bind the examiner. It is most useful where the marks are only marginally close, and we will tell you honestly when it is unlikely to move the case.

What happens if the review is refused?

The refusal decision becomes effective. From there the options are a further appeal to the courts within thirty days, or a fresh application — typically with a narrower specification, an amended mark or a different class strategy. We set out what each would cost before you commit.

Does filing a review keep my original filing date?

Yes. The review is a continuation of the same application, so the original filing date is preserved while the review runs. That priority is the main reason a review is usually worth assessing properly before deciding to abandon and refile.

Do I need to be a Chinese company to file a review?

No. A foreign applicant can apply for review, but one without a habitual residence or place of business in China must do so through a CNIPA-registered agent. That is a requirement of the procedure, not our preference, and we handle the whole review in English.

Received a refusal notice?

Send us the notice and the application number straight away. We assess the grounds, tell you honestly whether the review is worth filing, and quote it in writing. The fifteen-day window is the whole game.

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