5 Reasons to Register Your Trademark in China
China is one of the biggest economies in the world. Businesses worldwide want to trade with Chinese firms to expand their operations and increase their income streams. However, you must know about the legal complications before entering the Chinese market.
It is vital to take the necessary steps to protect your business against counterfeiting or any issues with the theft of Intellectual Property. Therefore, the ideal thing is to register your trademark in China. It will protect your brand from any bad faith registrations and save you from counterfeiting.
Having a Chinese trademark can help foreign companies in various ways. You can register today with the Chinese Trademark Office since it can come in handy when expanding your business to China. Let's discuss the benefits of getting a Chinese trademark registration for your business.
1. Prevents Counterfeiting
The most prevalent problem that many companies face in China is counterfeiting. You will find replicas of the products, and they can have a severe impact on your business. Counterfeit goods are a trillion-dollar industry worldwide, with most coming from China.
Your brand can face severe financial consequences due to the counterfeiting of your products. It can dilute brand, cause financial loss, and hurt your reputation. Therefore, you need to register your trademark in China to retain the ownership of the brand that you have built.
The Chinese trademark registration gives you complete rights to the products and protects you against counterfeiting. You will have legislative immunity against companies or individuals promoting their goods under your brand name on various platforms, like Ali Express and Alibaba.
If you don't have a Chinese trademark, getting these brands to remove their ads will be impossible. After registering your trademark with the CTO, you can get it documented with the Chinese Customs. The customs will look for counterfeit items and inform you if they find one.
They will inform you about it so you can take further action accordingly. This practice ensures that your brand identity is safe in China. You should follow this strategy if you ship goods to other countries besides China.
2. Helps You Expand Your Operations in China
Globalization has made trade among countries more than easy today. Many companies can now target strong economies and expand their operations over there. Since China is a major player in the global market, many companies have some sort of involvement in the country.
Whether targeting Chinese consumers or setting up a manufacturing facility, your business will engage with China. The nation of more than 1.3 billion people offers immense opportunities that can help you expand your business rapidly.
However, you should ensure that your brand is safe from any legal complications to expand. Therefore, having a trademark helps you enter new markets and sell your products with legal compliance. If you are doing business in the US, you know the significance of having a trademark.
It gives you legal protections and helps you establish routes to enter new markets. However, that trademark has jurisdiction within the US. If you want to expand into other countries, like China, you must get a trademark registration.
Even if you don't want to expand, you might want to start the process. Trademark registration will enable your business to expand into China in the future.
3. Offers Financial Benefits
Trademarks offer various financial benefits over time to your business. While it might look like an expensive investment, trademarks are worth the money. Their values appreciate over time and allow you to access the growing Chinese markets. Consequently, it will help your business to expand its operations quickly.
Moreover, a trademark helps you increase your brand awareness and recognition. People will become more aware of your products and services, creating new opportunities for you to explore. If we talk about China, the trademark application expense is lower than in other major economies.
You will have to take the services of a Chinese trademark lawyer. Their fees will constitute a significant portion of your cost. You can also choose to go for an agency that can help you get a trademark in China. Agencies offer a competitive rate, meaning you will incur a lower cost if you choose this option.
4. Protects You from Bad Faith Registrations
China is a first-to-file country where the CTO issues the trademark to the person who files it first. Whether any person is using the trademark or plans to use it in the future, they will get it if they are the first to file. Though it helps new businesses, it can result in bad faith registrations.
They occur when an individual registers the trademark to use it for illegal purposes. Their goal is to retain the trademark registration for ransom from the original owner. Unfortunately, there is nothing much the owners can do about it.
They can take the matter to the CTO and fight the case or pay the amount the trademark owner wants. Therefore, getting your trademark registered in China beforehand is better to avoid these sorts of complications.
5. Makes it Easy to File a Lawsuit
Last but not least, trademark registration makes it easy for you to file a lawsuit against the person or company who has made an unauthorized copy. Chinese laws will give you complete protection against trademark infringement. If you don't have a trademark, you will have a tough time in court.
No trademark means there is no base for you to file a lawsuit against the other party. Therefore, you will lose control over your brand even though you own it.
Wrapping Up
The Chinese market offers many companies great opportunities to expand their business. However, it is vital to register your trademark in China to avoid any complications. It will ensure your brand and product remains safe from infringement.