Trademark Assignment in China: How to Buy or Transfer a Mark

Foreign companies end up assigning Chinese trademarks for several reasons: buying back a mark that a distributor or squatter registered, moving marks to a Chinese subsidiary, or cleaning up after a merger. An assignment looks like a simple change of owner, but CNIPA checks whether related marks are transferred together, whether the parties qualify and whether the mark is pledged or seized. Applications are refused, or treated as abandoned, more often than buyers expect. This guide explains the rules, the procedure and the risks to manage when buying or transferring a mark in China.

What the law requires

• Joint application: under Article 42 of the Trademark Law, the assignor and assignee sign an assignment agreement and apply to CNIPA together. The assignee must guarantee the quality of goods bearing the mark.
• Related marks go together: the owner must also assign its similar marks on the same goods, and its identical or similar marks on similar goods.
• CNIPA can refuse: an assignment likely to cause confusion or other adverse effects is not approved.
• Effective on publication: once approved, the assignment is published, and the assignee owns the mark from the publication date.

Pending applications can also be assigned. Transfers by inheritance, merger or division are handled as a separate "transfer" (移转) procedure based on the supporting documents.

The procedure

1. Check the status: confirm the registration is valid, that the owner's name matches its current company documents, and whether the mark is pledged, licensed, under cancellation or invalidation, or seized by a court.
2. Map related marks: list the assignor's identical and similar marks on the same or similar goods and decide what must be transferred together.
3. Sign the agreement: the list of marks, price, payment milestones, hand-over of documents and remedies.
4. File: both parties sign the CNIPA assignment application, with proof of each party's legal status. A party without a business establishment in China must file through a Chinese trademark agency.
5. Respond to office notices: CNIPA may ask for related marks to be added, for notarised documents or for explanations.
6. Approval and publication: the assignee receives a certificate of assignment and becomes the owner from publication.

Why assignments fail

• Related marks left out: CNIPA sets a deadline to add them; if the deadline is missed, the application is treated as abandoned. This is the most common problem.
• Name mismatch: if the owner has changed its name or address, record the change first or file it at the same time.
• Party not qualified: for example, an individual assignee needs a business qualification matching the goods or services.
• Signature or document problems: seals or signatures that do not match the party, expired documents, or notarisation requested to confirm the assignor's intent and not supplied in time.
• Encumbrances: a pledged mark cannot be assigned without the pledgee's consent, and a mark seized by a court cannot be assigned.

Buying a mark: managing the risk

1. Tie payment to publication: the buyer has no exclusive right until the assignment is approved and published. Hold back the balance until then. This matters most when buying back a squatted mark; see opposition, invalidation and non-use cancellation for the alternatives to paying.
2. Ask about licences: a recorded licence can be relied on against the buyer. Find out whether licences exist and how long they run; see Licensing a Trademark in China.
3. Check use: a mark registered for more than three years and never used is exposed to non-use cancellation. Start using it promptly after the assignment and keep evidence.
4. Agree on cooperation: the seller must help with office notices and may not license, pledge or file similar marks while the assignment is pending.
5. Update everything else: after approval, update China Customs recordals, e-commerce platform brand registrations and licence recordals.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take? Several months if the file is complete and no corrections are needed. Until approval, the mark stays in the assignor's name.

Can only some of the goods be assigned? A partial assignment is possible, but identical or similar marks on the same or similar goods cannot end up with two different owners.

The owner company has been dissolved. What now? Assign before dissolution. Afterwards, a transfer needs liquidation or court documents and is much harder.

For renewal, recording changes and licence recordal, see Keeping a China Trademark Alive.

J&C Intellectual Property Agency (JCIPO), founded in 2008, is a CNIPA-recorded trademark agency and a member of the China Trademark Association. We check title, negotiate and file assignments for foreign buyers and sellers, see our assignment and licensing service. Patent filings are handled through an affiliated patent agency.