How to translate and protect your brand for the Chinese market

Hongyan Wang, our colleague from the CCPIT PATENT AND TRADEMARK LAW OFFICE in Beijing, wrote an interesting article to tell you how to translate and protect your brand for the Chinese market. Learn more about how to establish your trademark in this successful country.

Translating your brand

One of the most difficult parts in in your brand’s establishment in China is the translation. Hongyan Wang says when translating a trademark, the corresponding Chinese mark should conform to the requirements of the Trademark Law. Among other things, it should:

• be distinctive;
• not directly indicate the functions and features of the goods or services; and
• not violate the prohibitions set out in the Trademark Law.

Since Chinese characters are very different from our Latin ones, there are four common ways (Literal translation, Transliteration, Adaption or the Combination of transliteration, literal translation and adaption) to translate them.

Protecting your brand

A carefully selected Chinese trademark can play an important role in the success of your brand and your business. The Trademark Law enshrines the principle of prior application; where two or more applicants apply to register identical or similar trademarks in respect of the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office will approve for publication the mark with the earliest application date and reject the other trademark applications. Thus, foreign companies would be well advised to select their corresponding Chinese trademarks before entering or upon entering the Chinese market.

Since China has adopted the Nice Classification of Goods and Services you need to consider the suitable classes to register your brand in. Furthermore the Trademark Office sub-divides the goods and services in each class into different sub-classes, depending on their materials, functions, purpose of use, sales channels and target consumers. Therefore, when applying for trademark registration, you should also consider the related goods and services in different sub-classes.

After knowing some of the special characteristics of the China’s language and market, make sure to register your Chinese trademarks in time and carefully, since it is the base to a good position at this successful country.

>> Read the whole article at iam-media.com!