China's 2027 Trademark Law Transition: Which Rules Apply to Pending Applications, Oppositions and Cancellations
China's revised Trademark Law takes effect on 1 January 2027. Foreign brand owners with applications, oppositions or cancellation actions already running in China are asking the same question: which law will decide my case? On 28 September CNIPA published draft Measures for Handling Trademark Matters under the Revised Trademark Law, a ten-article transition text open for comment until 12 November. This guide walks through what the draft would mean for pending matters, including Madrid designations of China. It is a draft and may change; a specific case needs professional advice.
The basic rule: the decision date counts
Under Article 2 of the draft, applications filed before 1 January 2027 for registration, opposition, review of refusal, recordal of changes, assignment, renewal and similar matters are governed by the revised law if CNIPA issues its decision on or after that date.
So filing before the end of the year does not lock in the old law. A new application filed now will, at current examination speeds, most likely be decided in 2027 and examined under the new rules. File when the business needs it, not to beat the deadline.
Two exceptions apply. For an invalidation action against a mark registered before 2027, procedure follows the new law but substance follows the law in force when the mark was registered. For a cancellation action filed before 2027, including non-use cancellation, procedure follows the new law and substance the old one.
Opposition periods: the publication date counts
This is the most visible change. The opposition window shrinks from three months to two. Article 4 of the draft draws the line at the date of preliminary publication: marks published before 1 January 2027 keep the three-month period; marks published on or after that date get two months.
For international registrations designating China, the line is drawn at the date of publication in the WIPO Gazette. Under the current Implementing Regulations these marks have three months from the first day of the month after publication (Article 45); for publications from 2027 the period will depend on the new Implementing Regulations.
Applicants filing directly with CNIPA gain a month. Brand owners who watch for conflicting filings lose one, so watch services need to be faster from January. Marks published around the turn of the year are where docketing errors happen: calculate each deadline from its own publication date. If your own application is opposed, see Responding to a Trademark Opposition in China.
Old registrations that are not used
Article 57(3) of the revised law lets CNIPA cancel, on its own initiative, a registration that has not been used for three consecutive years or has become generic. Article 7 of the draft confirms this reaches marks registered before 2027: local market regulators investigate and report upwards, and CNIPA asks the owner for evidence before deciding.
Foreign owners with defensive or legacy registrations in China should audit them now and gather use evidence for the marks worth keeping. See China's Revised Trademark Law (2027): Unused Marks Can Be Cancelled Ex Officio.
The same article applies the new law to misleading use of a registered mark that continues into 2027.
New procedural details
Motion marks become registrable under revised Article 14. The draft asks for a declaration and description in the application, one MP4 file of no more than 20 MB showing the full sequence, and three to nine JPEG stills. Because motion marks often lack inherent distinctiveness, CNIPA may ask for evidence of acquired distinctiveness, due within 15 days of its notice.
Surrenders filed from 2027 follow revised Article 48, and decisions issued from 2027 apply the revised Article 49 rule on the waiting period for similar marks after a registration lapses or is removed.
Until new Implementing Regulations are issued, the current ones continue to apply except where they conflict with the revised law (Article 9).
What to do before January
List every pending matter in China with its filing date, publication date, opposition deadline and expected decision date, and mark which law applies to each.
Audit registrations older than three years and collect evidence of use in China for the ones you want to keep.
If the draft affects you, comments can be sent to CNIPA's Department of Treaty and Law at
For the full registration process and timeline, see our China trademark guide.
Frequently asked questions
We file in December. Which law applies? Under the draft, whichever is in force when CNIPA decides, which will almost certainly be the revised law.
Our Madrid designation of China was published by WIPO on 20 December 2026. How long is the opposition period? Three months, because publication was before 1 January 2027, counted from 1 January 2027 as the first day of the following month.
We filed a non-use cancellation this year. Does the new law change the test? Procedure follows the new law; whether the mark was used is still judged under the old law.
J&C Intellectual Property Agency, founded in 2008, is a CNIPA-recorded trademark agency and a member of the China Trademark Association. We handle trademark filings, oppositions and cancellations in China for foreign brands; see our trademark registration service.
