Trademark opposition is a two-way procedure: you may act as the opponent to intercept another's problematic trademark, or as the opposed party to defend your own application. This guide lays out the operational points of the opposition procedure from both the offensive and defensive perspectives.
1. Procedure at a Glance
After a trademark is published in a preliminary approval announcement, it enters the three-month opposition period (Article 33). The opponent files an opposition application and pays the fee (official fee: RMB 500 per class for paper filing, RMB 450 per class for online filing); after accepting the case, CNIPA notifies the opposed party to defend within thirty days, then examines both parties' materials and decides whether to approve or refuse registration within twelve months of the expiry of the announcement period (extendable by six months) (Article 35).
2. Offense: How to File an Opposition
2.1 Discovery and Monitoring
The opposition window is only three months, so discovery is the prerequisite. Set up trademark announcement monitoring for core brands and core classes, screening each issue of the announcements for similar, imitative, or squatted applications. Upon discovering a target, immediately verify the announcement date and count backward to manage the deadline.
2.2 Determine Standing and Grounds
- You are a prior rights holder or an interested party: prioritize relative grounds—Article 30 (conflict with prior trademarks), Article 32 (prior rights, squatting a trademark with a certain influence), Article 15 (squatting by agents or related parties), Article 13 (well-known trademarks);
- No prior rights or want to broaden the attack: add absolute grounds—prohibited signs, lack of distinctiveness, Article 4 bad-faith stockpiling, Article 44 improper means. Absolute grounds may be asserted by anyone.
2.3 Evidence Organization
Build in three layers—"rights basis + conflict comparison + the other party's bad faith":
- Rights basis: trademark registration certificates, work registration certificates and drafts, business licenses, proof of name and portrait rights;
- Prior use and reputation: contracts, invoices, advertisements, media coverage, awards, and industry rankings predating the other party's filing date—the earlier and broader the better;
- Bad-faith evidence: the list of trademarks in the other party's name (abnormal quantity, involving many others' marks), peddling records, and records of its dealings with you.
2.4 Drafting and Filing
Structure the opposition application as "case information—opposition grounds (listing the statutory provisions item by item)—facts and argument—evidence list". In the argument section, map each statutory element to the evidence; avoid vague assertions. For online filing, the system time prevails—leave at least a week's buffer.
3. Defense: How to Respond After Being Opposed
3.1 Start upon Receipt
Upon receiving the Trademark Opposition Defense Notification and the opposition copy, the thirty-day defense period begins and cannot be extended. Deconstruct the opposition application the same day: who the opponent is, what grounds it asserts, what evidence it has, and where its weaknesses lie.
3.2 Choosing a Defense Strategy
- Procedural defense: the opponent lacks standing, filed late, or its evidence has formal defects;
- Substantive defense: the marks differ greatly in sound, appearance, and meaning; the goods are not similar; no confusion will arise; the opponent's prior rights are not established or postdate your filing date; your trademark has a legitimate design origin and genuine use;
- Evidence counterweight: use third-party records (invoices, contracts, platform data) to prove your prior use or independent creation, weakening the squatting accusation;
- Challenge the opponent's evidence: point out self-produced evidence, timing defects, and lack of relevance item by item.
3.3 Binding the Materials
Defense statement + proof of qualification + evidence list + evidence, with numbered pages and noted purposes, submitted in full at one time.
4. Follow-Up After the Decision
- Opposition upheld and your registration refused: apply for a review of refusal of registration within fifteen days; new evidence and grounds may be supplemented at the review stage; if the review also fails, an administrative lawsuit is available;
- Your opposition fails and the other party is registered: review is unavailable—immediately assess invalidation, noting that the five-year limit for relative grounds runs from the registration announcement date and opposition time does not extend it;
- Partially upheld: if registration is refused in part, seek review of the refused part and re-plan the layout for the approved part.
5. Master Deadline Checklist
- Opposition period: three months from the announcement date;
- Defense period: thirty days from receipt of the notification;
- Examination period: twelve months from the expiry of the announcement period, extendable by six months;
- Review period: fifteen days from receipt of the decision;
- Invalidation limit: five years from the registration date for relative grounds.
6. Cost and Pace Advice
The opposition official fee is RMB 500 per class for paper filing (RMB 450 per class for online filing), but the main costs lie in evidence and agency services. Core brands merit a full offensive-defensive investment; for peripheral trademarks, run a cost-benefit assessment first. The principle shared by both sides: deadlines are hard constraints, evidence is prepared to the standard of the next procedure, and every step leaves an interface for subsequent review or invalidation.
7. Where to Get Help
If you need to handle the above matters, you may file an opposition defense request on MyTMBee, with a registered agent following through on the case.