An opposition defense is the adversarial procedure in which, after a trademark is opposed, the opposed party (the trademark applicant) submits a written defense and evidence addressing the opposition grounds within thirty days of receiving the copy of the opposition application served by CNIPA.
Procedural Position
The opposition procedure is adversarial: the opponent attacks and the opposed party defends. The defense is the opposed party's only formal opportunity to be heard in the written examination. Article 35 of the Trademark Law provides that CNIPA shall hear the facts and grounds presented by both the opponent and the opposed party and decide after investigation and verification—if the opposed party does not defend, CNIPA will examine the case by default based solely on the opponent's materials.
Core Elements of a Defense
- Time limit: within thirty days of receiving the defense notification and the opposition copy; the statutory period cannot be extended;
- Form: Trademark Opposition Defense Statement + evidence list + evidence materials, plus a power of attorney if represented by an agency;
- Fees: no official fee for the defense itself;
- Structure: respond to each opposition ground item by item—procedural points first (standing, timeliness, form of evidence), then substantive points (no similarity, no prior rights, no bad faith).
Common Defense Strategies
- Dismantle the other party's rights basis: whether the cited trademark is valid and renewed, and whether its designated goods cover the disputed goods; whether the ownership and timing of the prior rights are established;
- Argue mark differences: argue from sound, appearance, meaning, overall visual effect, and pronunciation conventions that the marks are not similar, the goods are not similar, the consumer groups differ, and no confusion will arise;
- Prove legitimate origin: submit the design concept, creation process, and prior-use evidence to counter the "bad-faith squatting" accusation;
- Challenge the other party's evidence: point out self-produced evidence, formation dates later than the filing date, lack of relevance, and unverifiability, weakening its probative value;
- Partial-concession strategy: where the application spans many classes or subclasses, consider conceding non-core goods and concentrating forces on the core items.
Key Points of Evidence Organization
Bind the defense evidence in groups—"qualification—trademark origin—use evidence—counter-arguments"—and note the formation date, source, and purpose of each item. Third-party records (invoices, contracts, platform data) are more probative than self-produced materials; for evidence proving prior use, the earlier the date the better.
Consequences of Not Defending and Follow-Up Remedies
Failing to defend does not necessarily mean losing, but the examiner will only see the opponent's narrative, and the probability of losing rises significantly. If the opposition is upheld and registration is refused, the opposed party may apply for a review of refusal of registration within fifteen days of receiving the decision; new grounds and evidence may still be supplemented at the review stage. Mistakes at the defense stage are not irreversible, but the further along the procedure, the more passive the position.
Practical Advice
Start the same day the defense notification is received: thirty days is not generous for collecting evidence, drafting, proofreading, and filing—especially for enterprises whose evidence is scattered across multiple departments, a trademark-case emergency response mechanism should be established.
How these concepts apply in a specific case still involves detailed differences; you may consult a registered agent on MyTMBee for a case-specific analysis.