After a trademark is preliminarily approved and published, a statutory three-month opposition period must still pass. If no opposition is filed upon expiry of the publication period, or the opposition is found not sustained upon review, the CNIPA approves the registration and issues the registration publication. The applicant can usually download the electronic trademark registration certificate online in the same month the registration publication is issued.
The Three-Month Opposition Period Is a Statutory Waiting Period
Article 33 of the Trademark Law provides that, for a preliminarily approved and published trademark, prior right holders and interested parties may file an opposition within three months from the date of publication. During these three months the trademark is not yet registered, the applicant is not yet the trademark owner, and the ® symbol cannot be used.
What Happens After the Publication Period Ends
- No opposition: upon expiry of the publication period, the CNIPA directly approves the registration, publishes the registration publication, and then issues the electronic registration certificate.
- Opposition filed: the CNIPA decides whether to approve the registration within 12 months from the expiry of the publication period, extendable by 6 months with approval in special circumstances; if the opposition is not sustained, registration is approved and the registration publication is issued.
Reference Timeline for Getting the Certificate
- No opposition: from the date of the preliminary approval publication to obtaining the certificate usually takes about four months—the three-month opposition period plus the registration publication and certificate preparation cycle.
- Opposition filed but not sustained: the opposition review period is added, and the wait may extend to a year or more after the publication period expires.
Practical Advice
Once the registration publication is issued, promptly log in to the online trademark service system to download and back up the electronic registration certificate, and keep a screenshot of the registration publication page for subsequent enforcement, renewal, and platform qualification review.
Note: The timeframes in this article are updated as of 2026. Actual durations depend on examination progress; the CNIPA's official statements prevail.
If you are facing the above issues, you can first arrange trademark agency registration through MyTMBee and decide whether to file after confirming feasibility, avoiding wasted official fees from blind filings.