Exhibitions are where orders are most concentrated and where trademark infringement occurs most frequently: new products are unveiled for the first time, competitors display side by side, and customers are within reach. The value of exhibition enforcement lies in "speed" — the handling cycle is measured in days or even hours — but its main effect is stopping the display; it cannot obtain monetary damages. This article explains the Canton Fair's complaint mechanism and hard deadlines, the risks and response rhythm of overseas exhibitions, and the trademark materials you must prepare before exhibiting.
1. Two Directions at an Exhibition, One Set of Prepared Materials
- You are the rights holder: you want infringing copies removed from the exhibition — go through the exhibition complaint mechanism;
- You are an exhibitor: complained about by a competitor, you must submit non-infringement evidence within an extremely short time, or your exhibits will be covered or removed.
Both directions call for the same set of materials: proof of trademark ownership, an explanation mapping products to rights, and infringement comparisons or evidence of lawful source. At an exhibition time is measured in hours — preparing on-site is too late.
2. The Canton Fair: Complaint Mechanism and Hard Deadlines
The Canton Fair sets up an "IPR and Trade Dispute Complaint Reception Station." During offline fairs, a combined online-offline approach is used: complaints are received online, and experts selected by IP authorities are stationed at the reception station to handle cases on site. Key rules:
- The complaint channel is unique: complaints must be submitted through the Canton Fair IPR complaint system (official entry: complain.cantonfair.org.cn); the reception station does not accept complaints from other channels, and complaints by phone or email are not accepted;
- Complainant eligibility: trademark registrants, trademark use licensees with independent claims, and lawful successors to registered trademark rights; the person or agent must hold valid credentials for participating in the current session; foreign complainants without habitual residence or business premises in China should engage a lawfully established trademark agency;
- Materials to submit: trademark registration certificate, rights holder identity proof, license contract (when a licensee complains), succession proof, power of attorney and agent identity proof; complaint grounds and evidence, links and screenshots of the allegedly infringing display, and item-by-item comparison statements;
- Respondent's deadline: after the reception station notifies by email, the respondent must within 24 hours (or before the close of the current session if less than 24 hours remain) submit a defense and valid evidence through the online portal, or delist the relevant exhibits;
- Effect of voluntary delisting: where the respondent delists voluntarily, the reception station makes no infringement determination and only notifies the complainant of the result;
- Consequences of missing the deadline: failing to respond and failing to delist, the reception station will delist the exhibits and continue its investigation and determination; if no infringement is found, the display is restored;
- Appeal: a complainant or respondent disagreeing with a determination must file an appeal within 24 hours of notice, with evidence.
In addition, the Canton Fair requires exhibiting enterprises to upload ownership documents such as trademark registration certificates to the official website for record, for use in inspections, defenses, and appeals — failing to prepare in peacetime means scrambling when complained about.
A reminder: under the Canton Fair rules, filing a complaint is deemed consent to bear the consequences of an improper complaint, including compensating losses caused to the fair, the respondent, or other parties by the improper complaint. Malicious complaints carry costs.
3. Overseas Exhibitions: Risks Are More Dispersed
Overseas exhibitions usually have no unified "complaint station"; protection rests on three legs:
- Interim measures of local courts: in some jurisdictions, rights holders can apply to courts through counsel for interim injunctions — fast procedures with heavy consequences, and being ordered to withdraw or having booths seized on site is not uncommon;
- Local customs and police: some countries run IP enforcement operations during exhibitions, seizing suspected infringing exhibits;
- Exhibition organizer rules: large exhibitions generally have IP dispute handling mechanisms that process removal requests under the host country's laws and exhibition rules.
Because procedures differ so much across countries, the correct preparation before exhibiting overseas is: have a local lawyer conduct an IP health check of exhibits and promotional materials in advance, screening out high-risk exhibits, promotional language, and catalogs; when complained about, do not negotiate on site by yourself — contact the organizer's designated mechanism and your lawyer immediately, to avoid missing the extremely short response window.
4. Pre-Exhibition Preparation Checklist
- Trademarks: registered trademarks in target countries (at least accepted applications), original certificates or notarized/legalized copies, assignment and renewal proofs;
- Engagement documents: powers of attorney stating the entrusted matters and authority, with agent identity proof; overseas complaints usually also require notarization, legalization, and Chinese or local-language translations;
- Product evidence: contracts, invoices, quotations, product catalogs, dated booth photos — both supporting your own enforcement and defending against counter-complaints;
- Comparison materials: prepare infringement comparisons as tables listing "features of the other party's exhibits — features of my rights" item by item; on-site handling time is limited, and tables are more useful than long narratives;
- Material self-check: keep brand identifiers on exhibit catalogs, leaflets, and panels consistent with the registered trademark design — no distortion or added words.
5. Common Pitfalls
- Not registering the trademark beforehand — when complained about, all you can produce is the business license or trade name;
- Holding only a combined word-and-design trademark and being unable to articulate the rights basis for the word element;
- Not uploading the registration certificate to the exhibition platform for record, unable to supplement in time for a defense;
- Missing the 24-hour defense window and having exhibits delisted directly, losing all customers of the entire session;
- Arguing with the other party on site overseas while the other party races to obtain an interim injunction;
- Using "best," "No. 1," or direct disparaging comparisons in promotional materials — such content often triggers advertising compliance and unfair competition risks simultaneously.
Exhibition complaint rules and deadlines, and the specific procedures of overseas interim measures, may be adjusted. Before exhibiting, defer to the latest provisions of the Canton Fair's official complaint system and the current session's exhibitor manual, as well as on-site advice from counsel in the host country. The rules in this article are current as of 2026.
6. Where to Get It Done
For the specific procedures involved in the above matters, book archive management with MyTMBee, where a registered trademark agent provides end-to-end assistance.