The trademark opposition period is three months, counted from the date on which CNIPA publishes the preliminary approval announcement. If no opposition is filed within the three months, the trademark is approved for registration and a trademark registration certificate is issued.
Legal Basis for the Time Limit
Article 33 of the Trademark Law expressly provides that, for a trademark published in a preliminary approval announcement, eligible parties may file an opposition with CNIPA within three months from the announcement date. This is a statutory time limit and cannot be extended.
How to Calculate the Start and End Dates
- Starting point: the publication date of the preliminary approval announcement, i.e., the announcement date stated in the Trademark Gazette—not the date you actually saw the announcement;
- Ending point: the corresponding day three full months after the announcement date. For example, if the announcement is published on March 10, the opposition period expires on June 10;
- As for the filing method, if filed through the CNIPA online trademark service system, the system submission time prevails; if filed by mail, the postmark date of dispatch prevails in practice.
What If You Miss the Opposition Period
The opposition period is the best window to block a trademark's registration. Once missed and the trademark is approved for registration, opposition is no longer available; you can only request that the registered trademark be invalidated under Article 44 or Article 45 of the Trademark Law. The evidentiary requirements and examination standards for invalidation are generally stricter than for opposition, and the cost is higher.
Practical Advice
Do not wait until the announcement is about to expire before discovering the problem. It is advisable to set up trademark announcement monitoring for your core brands; once a similar or squatted trademark appears in an announcement, immediately assess whether to file an opposition and reserve time for preparing the materials.
Note: The time limits in this article are updated as of 2026. Actual durations are affected by examination progress; CNIPA's official statements shall prevail.
If you are unsure about the above issues, you may first handle an opposition defense on MyTMBee and act after a registered agent has provided an analysis.