This guide sets out the complete operational workflow for a self-service pre-filing trademark search: determine the class, break down the mark, search in layers, interpret the results, grade and decide, and recheck before filing—helping individuals and small businesses complete a competent pre-filing search with free tools.
Step 1: Determine the Classes and Groups to Search
The scope of the search depends on your goods or services. First open the Classification of Similar Goods and Services and locate the class for your main business: physical goods fall in Classes 1 to 34, and services in Classes 35 to 45. Pay attention to three points when locating.
First, classify by the nature of the goods, not by industry habit—for example, the core service of a "bubble tea shop" falls in Class 43 restaurant services, but the cup-packaged milk tea product itself falls in Class 30 or Class 32. Second, list the relevant similar groups under the target class, read the class notes and group notes line by line, and write down every cross-class cross-referenced related group. Third, add upstream, downstream, and derivative classes to an extended list—for a clothing business, note related classes such as luggage, accessories, and retail services.
The output of this step is a "class + similar group" list, which defines the boundary of the searches that follow.
Step 2: Break Down the Mark and Build a Search-Term List
Break the candidate mark into several search leads, covering at least the following dimensions.
The identical form: the mark itself. Character-form variants: look-alike characters, added or removed strokes, reversed character order, simplified and traditional forms. Pronunciation variants: homophones, near-homophones, common phonetic spellings. Meaning variants: synonyms and near-synonyms. Foreign-language correspondences: the full pinyin spelling, common English renderings, and foreign words of corresponding meaning. Dominant-portion split: the core word of the mark as a standalone search term.
For example, for the mark "青云志" (Qing Yun Zhi), the search-term list should include: 青云志, 青云, 清云志, 青雲誌 (traditional form), QINGYUNZHI, homophonic variants of 青云志, and so on. For a device mark, determine its figurative-element classification code and search by that code.
Step 3: Execute the Search in Layers
Enter the CNIPA online trademark search system and proceed in the following order.
Layer one, identical search: run an exact-match query on the mark itself in each target class. If an identical valid prior trademark on similar goods turns up, that class is essentially out.
Layer two, similarity search: search each variant in the term list one by one, focusing on prior trademarks that share the dominant portion, the same sound, or a corresponding meaning.
Layer three, dominant-portion search: search the core word alone to see whether any prior trademark contains that core word and is similar overall. For example, if your mark is "XX 优选", focus your search on prior records for the "XX" portion.
Layer four, related-class search: repeat the above searches across the related-class list to cover cross-class similarity risk.
Screenshot and archive every suspected similar record during the search to leave an audit trail.
Step 4: Interpret the Search Results
For each prior trademark found, verify four elements.
Legal status: confirm whether it is "registered," "pending," "invalidated," or "rejected." Lapsed marks generally no longer pose an obstacle, but note that under Article 50 of the Trademark Law, an identical or similar application is still not approved within one year of a mark's invalidation or cancellation.
Filing date: only a prior trademark whose filing date precedes yours is an obstacle; same-day filings are resolved by priority of use.
Scope of goods: compare group by group whether its approved goods and yours fall within the same similar group or are linked by a cross-reference note.
Degree of similarity: compare separately by character form, pronunciation, meaning, and overall impression, and record the grounds of similarity.
Step 5: Risk Grading and Decision
Grade the mark into three levels based on the search results.
High risk: a valid prior trademark exists that is completely identical, shares the dominant portion or pronunciation, or corresponds in meaning, and the goods are similar. Decision: abandon or rename; filing is not recommended.
Medium risk: partially similar prior trademarks exist, but there is room for overall differentiation, or the similarity of the goods is doubtful. Decision: filing is acceptable, but prepare a review-of-rejection contingency plan at the same time; you can also narrow the scope of goods to avoid the conflicting groups.
Low risk: no substantively similar obstacle. Decision: file as soon as possible to shorten exposure to the blind period.
Step 6: Recheck Before Filing
One to two weeks before formal filing, run a final recheck in the target classes using the mark itself and its core dominant portion, covering the most recently published filing data. At the same time, complete two non-trademark checks: whether an identical trade name has been registered earlier in the enterprise-name registry, and whether any device or stylized lettering in the mark involves someone else's copyright.
Common Mistakes Checklist
Searching only for identical matches and not for similarity; searching only one's own class and not related classes; looking only at whether a trademark exists and not at its legal status; comforting oneself with a lapsed mark (ignoring the one-year isolation period); searching only the word portion of a device mark and not its figurative elements; and filing months after the search, when the recheck data is long out of date.
When to Get Professional Help
The mark is a word-device or Chinese-foreign combination; the layout spans more than three classes; the search surfaces similarity situations that are hard to judge; or you plan a major investment in the brand. In these situations, a professional approval-rate assessment on top of the self-service search costs far less than a rejection and a rebrand.
For the specific handling of the above matters, you can book a self-service registration on MyTMBee, with full assistance provided by a record-filed agent.