For a refusal under Article 4 of the Trademark Law as a "bad-faith trademark registration application without intent to use," the core of the response is to prove genuine intent to use: demonstrate that the trademark was applied for actual business use, that the number of applications matches the scale of your operations, and that this is not hoarding for profit.
Situations Likely to Trigger Article 4
- Filing large numbers of trademark applications in a short period, clearly exceeding normal business needs;
- Applying for numerous signs similar to trademarks of others that enjoy a degree of reputation;
- Applying en masse for public-resource words, trending terms, names of famous persons, etc.;
- Large numbers of trademarks under your name sitting in a pending-assignment, for-sale state with no trace of actual use.
Review Response Strategy
- Prove genuine use or preparation for use: submit evidence of actual use (product photos, sales records, promotional materials), or evidence of product development, production, and launch preparation (cooperation agreements, production orders, packaging design drafts, business plans);
- Explain the reasonableness of the filing volume: where multi-class filings are part of a normal defensive brand layout, explain the coverage of your business, industry practice, and the legitimacy of defensive registrations;
- Explain the original origin of the sign: describe the creative concept behind the trademark and its connection to your own enterprise name, trade name, and product lines, dispelling any suspicion of imitating others;
- Clean up abnormal applications under your name: voluntarily cancel or assign idle trademarks for which there is genuinely no plan to use, reducing the appearance of "hoarding".
Assessing the Difficulty of a Turnaround
- Where a genuine business entity exists, the filing volume is moderate, and use evidence can be produced, the review has a reasonable chance;
- Where the filing volume is enormous and no business entity exists, there is essentially no room for argument.
Prevention Matters More
Control the pace when building your trademark portfolio: file in batches according to business plans, retain use evidence, and avoid mass filings all at once — this prevents triggering Article 4 scrutiny at the source.
In similar situations, it is advisable to first consult a registered trademark agent on MyTMBee to assess whether a refusal review evaluation is needed before deciding on the next step.