2026 Amendments to the Trademark Law
Last week, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China adopted the amendments to the Trademark Law, which will come into force on 01 January 2027. The 2026 Amendments, thus, leave EU SMEs a few months to adjust their trademark strategy in China. But how will the new trademark law affect EU SMEs in China and what adjustments are needed?
Bad-faith trademark registrations, whereby a Chinese entity or an individual registers foreign trademarks in China first with the intention of obtaining financial gains from potential trademark disputes once the foreign company tries to enter the China market, have been the biggest issue for EU SMEs for a long time. Each year, the Helpdesk receives many enquiries from SMEs whose China market entry has been blocked by bad-faith trademark registrations. While over the years, the Chinese authorities have taken steps to curb bad-faith trademark registrations, the issue has persisted. While bad-faith trademark registrations were already banned by the 2019 Trademark Law amendments, the 2026 Amendments introduce a strong deterrent to those filing trademarks in bad faith. Starting from next year, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) could punish the bad-faith registrant with a fine up to CNY 100,000 (around € 13,000). Hopefully, from 2027 onwards EU SMEs will experience less trademark squatting incidences before entering the China market. That does not mean that SMEs could pay less attention to timely trademark registrations. On the contrary, timely trademark registration remains a vital part of trademark strategy.
Motion marks can now be registered as trademark in China, bringing more dynamics into trademark registration. For EU SMEs in creative industries who design motion marks, this is good news, as your trademark may be registrable from 2027 onwards.
The 2026 Amendments place greater value on the intention of use, which means that EU SMEs need to provide some evidence of actual use or at least a business plan, when registering trademarks in China. Additionally, if any goods or services are not relevant to the business, the trademark registration might be refused by the CNIPA. This might have an impact on the defensive filing strategy. Thus, SMEs that may need defensive filing (for example, due to future expansion plans of types of goods and services provided) should consult legal professionals before filing the trademark.
The 2026 Amendments explicitly recognise trademark use via the Internet, including trademark use on social media, webpages, and e-commerce platforms. These sources may now be treated as evidence of trademark use in China. This makes it easier for EU SMEs to prepare either to prove the intention of use during the registration process or support the use evidence in enforcement proceedings or in non-use cancellation proceedings.
The amended Trademark law introduces stricter punishment for deceptive trademarks. Trademarks are considered deceptive if they are deliberately designed to mislead consumers and induce erroneous perceptions as to the quality, manufacturing process, raw materials, or place of origin of the goods. If a trademark is considered deceptive, the CNIPA will refuse to register it. As of 2027, a fine of up to five times the illegal turnover may be imposed if trademark use is deemed deceptive. Furthermore, registered trademarks that are considered deceptive may be revoked if the violation is not rectified. Note, that anyone, including the competitors, may now report trademark violations such as the misleading use of trademarks to the Chinese authorities. EU SMEs should, therefore, review the trademark strategy ensuring that the trademarks accurately reflect the goods and services they are intended to cover. Furthermore, stricter oversight of marketing materials (including on social media) and labelling practices are needed to avoid issues, especially as competitors may be eager to exploit your mistakes.
Another important amendment impacting EU SMEs is the fact that the term of trademark opposition has been shortened from 3 months to 2 months by the new law. EU SMEs must now be able to react faster to oppose trademarks that might impact the use of their trademark. Likewise, faster reaction is needed in case the SME’s trademark registration is opposed. This often requires that the SMEs have local trademark attorneys ready to file a defence against an opposition.
Under the amended Trademark Law, non-use cancellations can be started not only by the third party, but also by the CNIPA. The EU SMEs should regularly prepare proper evidence of use to defend against any challenges to the use of the trademark.
Protection of well-known trademarks is further extended under the 2026 Amendments to provide cross-class protection to unregistered well-known trademarks. Third parties may no longer register or use un-registered well-known trademarks on goods that are considered dissimilar (i.e. clothes and haircare products). However, it is still very difficult for trademarks to be acknowledged as a well-known trademark, very few EU SMEs have achieved it. EU SMEs should therefore continue registering their trademarks and not rely on their trademarks potentially obtaining the well-known trademark status.
The revised Trademark Law also strengthens the regulation of trademark agencies and law firms, by expanding prohibited conducts such as soliciting business through fraud, deception, disparagement of other trademark agencies, or other improper means and imposing increased fines for improper conduct. This should help to increase confidence in the actions of trademark agencies and law firms.
To further analyse the new Trademark Law and explain its implications to EU SMEs, the China IP SME Helpdesk will organise a webinar on 25 August 2026. All EU SMEs, startups, business support organisations and governmental agencies are welcome to sign up for the free webinar here. More details will be shared later. In the meantime, if you have questions about the impacts of the new Trademark Law to your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to us either via email or by booking an online consultation session with the IP Business Advisor.
Lisa Lu, China IP SME Helpdesk IP Business Advisor
Introduction of China IP SME Helpdesk
The China IP SME Helpdesk supports European Union (EU) Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to both protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in or relating to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan through the provision of free information and services. These take the form of jargon-free, first-line, confidential advice on intellectual property and related issues, plus training, materials and online resources. China IP SME Helpdesk organises IP training seminars and workshops all over China and Europe. It also provides online webinars on various IP-related topics and organizes one-on-one consultation sessions to help SMEs better understand IP, and how it relates to their products and to doing business in / with China.
The China IP SME Helpdesk project is funded by the European Union and builds on the achievements of a pilot project carried out in 2008-10. As of February 2025, Phase VIII commenced expanding China IP SME Helpdesk’s services to the SMEs from countries participating in the Single Market Programme (SMP).