The preliminary approval announcement is the statutory publication by which CNIPA, having completed examination of a trademark registration application and found it compliant with the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law, preliminary approves the application and publishes it in the Trademark Gazette. It comes before approved registration and is the publicity step that submits the examination conclusion to public scrutiny: only if no opposition is filed within the announcement period will the trademark be approved for registration and the applicant acquire the exclusive right to a registered trademark.
Legal Basis and Key Dates
Article 28 of the Trademark Law provides that CNIPA shall complete examination of the trademark registration application documents within nine months of receipt, and where the application complies with the relevant provisions of this Law, preliminary approve it and publish the approval. The nine months here is the examination period—not the announcement period, and not the completion of registration. Passing into preliminary approval announcement means the application has passed substantive examination but has not yet been registered.
Content of the Announcement
The preliminary approval announcement generally includes the application number, filing date, trademark representation, applicant's name and address, designated goods or service items and classes, and the agency. The announcement is open to the public and can be searched by anyone on the China Trademark Network. For enterprises, the announcement is an important source of information for judging competitors' trademark layouts and discovering similar trademarks.
The Three-Month Opposition Period
Article 33 of the Trademark Law provides that opposition may be filed against a preliminary approved and announced trademark within three months of the announcement date, with two levels of standing and grounds:
- Relative grounds: may be raised only by prior rights holders or interested parties, corresponding to violations of Articles 13(2) and (3), 15, 16(1), 30, 31, and 32;
- Absolute grounds: may be raised by any entity or individual, corresponding to violations of Articles 4, 10, 11, 12, and 19(4).
During the opposition period, the trademark is in a state of pending rights. The applicant may not mark ® at this time, nor assert rights in the name of the owner of a registered trademark.
Outcomes After the Announcement Period
- No opposition: upon expiry of the announcement period, CNIPA approves the registration, publishes the registration announcement, and issues the trademark registration certificate;
- Opposition filed: opposition examination begins, and CNIPA makes a decision on whether to approve registration within twelve months of expiry of the announcement period, extendable by six months in special circumstances; where the opposition is not sustained and registration is approved, the applicant acquires the exclusive right from the date of expiry of the three-month preliminary approval announcement period (Article 36).
Practical Points and Common Pitfalls
A common pitfall is treating the preliminary approval announcement as successful registration. An opposition period of at least three months still lies between them; where opposition is filed, the wait may extend beyond a year—this is the main source of uncertainty in the registration timeline.
Enterprises with a high risk of being squatted should make monitoring of trademark announcements a routine, filing opposition within the three-month window at a cost far lower than invalidation after registration. Applicants should keep their registered address and contact telephone effective to avoid missing opposition defense notices served by CNIPA.
The practical judgment behind these concepts must be tailored to the individual case; before proceeding, you may book a registered agent via MyTMBee for targeted analysis.