China's Revised Trade Mark Law: What Brand Owners Need to Know Before 2027

China has enacted the most substantial overhaul of its trade mark legislation in years. On 26 June 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed a comprehensive revision to the China Trademark Law. The new provisions take effect on 1 January 2027, giving brand owners a window of just a few months to review and adjust their China trade mark strategies.

This article summarises the key changes and what they mean for businesses with trade mark interests in China.

Shorter Opposition Window: Act Faster

One of the most immediately practical changes is the reduction of the opposition period from three months to two months. For brand owners who monitor the Chinese trade mark gazette — which is essential practice — this means less time to identify conflicting applications and file oppositions. Deadlines cannot be extended, so monitoring programmes and internal approval processes will need to be adjusted accordingly.

Crackdown on Bad Faith Filing

China's trade mark system has long grappled with a high volume of opportunistic and bad faith filings. The revised law significantly strengthens the existing framework targeting this conduct.

The good faith principle has been embedded in Chinese trade mark law since 2013, with bad faith explicitly addressed in 2019. The current revision goes further. The new Article 19 prohibits applications filed without a genuine intention to use the mark, as well as applications that are excessive relative to the applicant's legitimate commercial needs, or that are filed through deception or other improper means.

Importantly, this provision can be invoked not only by registered trade mark owners, but by any party — including owners of unregistered marks — to oppose or seek invalidation of a mark.

Financial Penalties for Applicants and Agents

The revised law introduces direct financial penalties to deter bad faith conduct at both the applicant and practitioner level:

• New Article 54: Applicants who file marks in bad faith face fines of up to RMB 100,000 where the mark has caused a negative influence.

• New Article 67: Trade mark agencies that knowingly assist bad faith applications face fines of up to RMB 200,000. Individual attorneys involved face fines of up to RMB 100,000.

These penalties are not limited to bad faith filings. They extend to applications and registrations involving marks that cannot lawfully be registered (corresponding to the current Article 10), marks that plagiarise or imitate well-known marks (current Article 13), and marks that were pre-emptively registered by third parties who had knowledge of the applicant's prior use and reputation (current Article 32).

The inclusion of trade mark practitioners in the penalty regime signals a deliberate policy shift: the authorities are placing more responsibility on agents to act as gatekeepers against inappropriate filings.

New Controls on How Registered Marks Are Used

The revision extends its reach beyond the filing stage to address how registered marks are used in commerce:

• New Article 56 (newly introduced): Using a registered trade mark in a misleading manner may attract a fine of up to five times the illegal turnover, or up to RMB 250,000 where the illegal turnover is below RMB 50,000. In serious cases, the registration itself can be cancelled.

• New Article 70 (newly introduced): Any entity or individual — not just trade mark owners — may report misleading use, infringement, or other unlawful trade mark conduct to the relevant authorities.

• New Article 57 (updating the current Article 49): Unauthorised alterations to a registered mark's appearance, or to the registered owner's name, address or other particulars, attract a correction order and fines of up to RMB 50,000, with cancellation possible in serious cases.

What Should Brand Owners Do Now?

With 1 January 2027 approaching, businesses with a presence in China — or those planning to enter the Chinese market — should take the following steps:

• Review your filing strategy. Ensure all pending and planned applications reflect genuine commercial intent and are proportionate to your business needs. Retain internal records that demonstrate this intention.

• Audit existing registrations for use compliance. Check that registered marks are being used consistently with the registered form and that any licensing or distribution arrangements do not introduce misleading use.

• Update brand guidelines. Ensure licensees, distributors and internal teams understand how the marks must be used to avoid attracting penalties under the new misleading use provisions.

• Increase monitoring frequency. With a shorter opposition window, your China gazette watch programme should generate alerts quickly enough to allow proper review and filing before the two-month deadline.

• Preserve evidence of use. The law maintains provisions allowing cancellation of non-use registrations. Systematic collection of use evidence remains essential.

• Review refused applications. If any marks were previously refused under the current Article 10, confirm that those marks are no longer in use to avoid the new penalty exposure.

A Broader Shift in Approach

Taken together, the 2026 amendments represent a deliberate effort to shift responsibility for maintaining the integrity of China's trade mark register away from the authorities alone, and toward applicants, practitioners and the general public. The introduction of community reporting mechanisms and practitioner-level penalties reflects a maturing IP ecosystem that is increasingly aligned with international standards.

Further clarification is expected in updated implementation regulations and examination guidelines. Brand owners and their advisers should monitor those developments closely as 2027 approaches.

How Stellar IP Law Can Help

Stellar IP Law advises Australian businesses and international brand owners on trade mark strategy across China and the Asia-Pacific region. If you would like advice on how these changes affect your portfolio, please contact us.