The registration announcement is the statutory announcement by which CNIPA publishes an approved registered trademark in the Trademark Gazette and issues the trademark registration certificate. Unlike the preliminary approval announcement, the registration announcement opens no opposition window; it corresponds to an already-established exclusive right to a registered trademark, not a pending examination conclusion.
Legal Basis
Article 33 of the Trademark Law provides that, where no opposition is filed by expiry of the preliminary approval announcement period, registration shall be approved, the trademark registration certificate issued, and the registration announced. Article 39 provides that the term of a registered trademark is ten years from the date of approved registration. The date of approved registration recorded in the registration announcement is the starting point of this ten-year term.
Distinction from the Preliminary Approval Announcement
- Position in time: the preliminary approval announcement comes before registration; the registration announcement comes after; the two are separated by the three-month opposition period;
- Legal effect: the preliminary approval announcement is only the publication of an examination conclusion; the registration announcement creates the exclusive right to a registered trademark;
- Opposition window: the preliminary approval announcement has a three-month opposition period; the registration announcement does not;
- Subsequent means: against a trademark in the registration announcement, only invalidation or non-use cancellation remains—there is no longer an opposition procedure.
The two announcements are published in separate issues of the Trademark Gazette, and the application number and registration number are not the same number. To determine whether a trademark has completed the registration process, look to whether it has been published in a registration announcement—not the preliminary approval announcement. If only the preliminary approval announcement can be found, the opposition period has not ended or opposition examination is still underway, and the rights status is uncertain.
When the Exclusive Right Commences
In ordinary circumstances, the exclusive right runs from the date of approved registration (Article 39).
The special case is a trademark opposed during the preliminary approval announcement period but ultimately approved for registration because the opposition was not sustained: the applicant acquires the exclusive right from the date of expiry of the three-month preliminary approval announcement period (Article 36(2)). In other words, for a trademark that was opposed but ultimately registered, the starting date of the exclusive right may precede the registration announcement date. However, use by others of identical or similar signs on identical or similar goods between the expiry of the announcement period and the decision to approve registration is in principle not retroactively actionable, except that malicious users owe compensation.
What to Do After the Registration Announcement
- Download and verify the representation, designated goods, and registrant's name and address on the registration certificate;
- Use the mark in a standardized way on the designated goods or services, marking ® at the upper-right or lower-right corner;
- Establish an annual archiving mechanism for use evidence, guarding against non-use cancellation for three consecutive years;
- Watch the renewal date: renewal may be handled within twelve months before expiry, with a further six-month grace period;
- Continue monitoring applications and registrations of similar trademarks, filing opposition or invalidation in time.
Common Pitfalls
Mixing up the registration number and the application number is a high-frequency error. The application number is a process number; the registration number is the rights number. External enforcement, platform filing, and customs recordation should all use the registration number. Another pitfall is believing the certificate means forever: the certificate is only the evidence of the right; the right is maintained through continuous use and proactive enforcement.
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.