No. The registration mark (®) must and may only be placed on a registered trademark identical to the representation on the registration certificate. A "variant" formed by modifying a registered trademark is, in law, an unregistered trademark; placing the (®) next to it constitutes passing off as a registered trademark.
Two Layers of Legal Risk
Layer one: passing off as a registered trademark. Under Article 52 of the Trademark Law, passing off an unregistered trademark as registered will be stopped by the market regulation authority, with rectification ordered within a time limit, a possible notice of criticism, and a fine depending on illegal business revenue. Regardless of how small the modification is, as long as the mark is inconsistent with the registered representation, it is not qualified to carry the (®).
Layer two: unauthorized alteration of the registered trademark. Under Article 49 of the Trademark Law, where a registered trademark is altered without authorization in use and rectification is not made by the ordered deadline, the CNIPA shall cancel the registered trademark. Meanwhile, the altered mark falls outside the exclusive right defined in Article 56 of the Trademark Law, leaving you in a very passive "certificate does not match the image" position in enforcement.
Common Wrong "Variants"
- Adding a border, background texture, or foreign-language annotation to the registered trademark and marking the whole with the (®);
- Extracting the device from a combination trademark and marking it alone with the (®);
- A redesigned logo with new fonts or colors continuing to use the old certificate's (®);
- Adding suffixes such as "®Pro" or "®Plus" to the registered trademark text.
The Correct Approach
File a registration application for the new version of the mark first, and apply the registration mark (®) only after approval; during the transition, use no registration marking at all; retain evidence of compliant use of the original registered trademark to avoid non-use cancellation risk from long-term use of only the variant.
If you are unsure about any of the above, you can first file a trademark change at MyTMBee and act only after receiving an analysis opinion from a registered agency.