The trademark examination process under Chinese trademark law involves several steps: checking to see if the application was filled properly, searching the database, comparing the application to other marks, carrying out investigations, and finally determining whether to grant initial approval or issue a rejection. Trademark applications in China currently take over nine months to receive an examination.
The substantive phase of an examination assesses whether the trademark is eligible for registration. Eligibility for the initial grant of registration in the Trademark Gazette is determined through the substantive examination.
The examination process involves determining whether the mark is prohibited or offensive, contains the required elements, and is distinctive. Next, the examiner determines whether there is a likelihood of confusion with other marks or conflict with priority rights holders, as well as whether there are existing trademarks with recently lapsed registrations (within the past year).
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