If a trademark application designating China filed through the Madrid System is refused, the applicant will receive a Provisional Refusal Notification issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and forwarded by the WIPO International Bureau. For such refusals, an application for review against the refusal shall not be filed with WIPO; instead, it must be submitted directly to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board under CNIPA. All procedures shall fully comply with the time limits and compliance provisions set forth in the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China. Here, PUYIZHICHAN shares the detailed handling procedures, time limit rules and corresponding response solutions as follows.
Mandatory deadline (no extensions available; failure to comply results in permanent forfeiture of the right to file a review)An application for review of the rejected trademark registration must be filed with the TRAB within 30 calendar days from the date the WIPO-forwarded refusal notification is received. This deadline shall not be extended for holidays.
Tip: Why does the WIPO-transmitted refusal notification state a 15-calendar-day period? Under China’s electronic document issuance rules, documents are deemed served 15 days after issuance. The latest date for submitting review materials falls on the 15th day after deemed service, resulting in a total 30-calendar-day window (15 days for deemed service + 15 days for filing).
This rejection occurs when the applied-for mark is deemed confusingly similar to prior registered Chinese trademarks. It constitutes the primary scenario for trademark reviews, and favorable outcomes may be secured through legal arguments, coexistence agreements, or submission of trademark use evidence.
| Scenario | Recommended Solution |
|---|---|
| Substantial investment in the mark, extensive domestic use in China, and weak similarity rejection grounds | Entrust a qualified agent to file a trademark review |
| Rejection based on absolute grounds such as lack of distinctiveness, with no available use evidence | Abandon the review, revise the trademark and refile a new application |
| China as a core target market requiring long-term stable trademark protection | Convert the Madrid application into a standalone national trademark application for China |
| Negotiable conflicting prior cited trademarks | Execute a trademark coexistence agreement and file the review concurrently |
Evaluate the necessity of a review and its likelihood of success from multiple perspectives based on actual circumstances.
If a trademark review is confirmed, the applicant must promptly retain a locally registered Chinese trademark agency. Per China’s Trademark Law, overseas applicants are required to appoint a Chinese trademark agent to handle review proceedings. Conduct preliminary consultations with the selected agency upon engagement.
Make the final decision to pursue or abandon the trademark review following consultations with the Chinese trademark agency.
PUYIZHICHAN is a formally registered trademark agency with the China National Intellectual Property Administration, authorized to provide full-spectrum Chinese trademark services for applicants worldwide. If your China-designated Madrid trademark receives a rejection, contact us for a preliminary consultation. We will deliver a comprehensive, professional assessment and authoritative recommendations on whether to proceed with a review. Should you opt to file a review, we offer end-to-end trademark review services.
