The number of applications has increased by 55%! How are Chinese enterprises breaking through the “bottleneck” of trademarks when “going global”?
From 2015 to 2024, the number of overseas trademark applications by Chinese mainland enterprises has surged. The number of trademark applications in a single overseas country exceeds 2.1 million, an increase of over 190,000 compared to the previous decade, with a growth rate of more than 6.5 times. In the past decade, the number of overseas trademark dispute cases involving Chinese mainland enterprises has exceeded 54,000, an increase of over 49,000 compared to the previous decade, with a growth rate of more than 8 times… Recently, the Overseas Rights Protection Working Committee of the China Trademark Association released the “China Enterprises Overseas Trademark Brand Development Report—Analysis of the Overseas Trademark Layout and Rights Protection Trends of Chinese Mainland Enterprises (2015—2024),” which analyzes the trademark applications and disputes of Chinese mainland enterprises overseas from 2015 to 2024, and provides suggestions and countermeasures for the trademark issues enterprises face during the “going global” process.
“From 2015 to 2024, the Belt and Road Initiative has strongly supported enterprises in expanding into emerging markets, and the cross-border e-commerce industry has developed rapidly. Against this backdrop, the internationalization process of Chinese enterprises has been continuously accelerating, but they also face the dual challenges of trademark squatting and infringement.” Wu Dongping, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Trademark Association, said at the recent China Enterprises Overseas Trademark Brand Development Report and Protection Strategy Symposium that in the process of “going global,” Chinese enterprises should integrate trademark management into the core of their globalization strategy, shifting from “passive defense” to “early planning” and then to “proactive offense” to reduce legal risks in the internationalization process.
Diagnosing and Treating Symptoms
In recent years, as the globalization步伐 of Chinese enterprises has accelerated, “going global” has become a new direction for business growth for many brands, and an increasing number of Chinese enterprises hope to establish brand influence overseas. However, due to different legal systems and market competition environments in different countries, Chinese enterprises face numerous challenges in overseas trademark layout and rights protection, and the issue of overseas trademark brand protection has become increasingly prominent.
Recently, the China Trademark Association’s Overseas Trademark Rights Protection Working Committee released the “China Trademark Association Member Enterprises 2024 Annual International Trademark Monitoring Early Warning Report” (hereinafter referred to as “the Report”). According to the report, based on applications filed in 2024, trademark international monitoring was conducted in 196 countries and regions worldwide. Among the 313 member enterprises of the China Trademark Association, 59 well-known enterprises had their trademarks recorded as being squatting, with an annual squatting rate of 19%. In 2023, the number of squatting enterprises was 38, an increase of 55% year-on-year.
“Trademarks are important intangible assets of enterprises and a crucial carrier of corporate reputation. If a trademark is infringed upon overseas, it will cause trouble for the enterprise to enter the overseas market.” Associate Professor Xiong Wencong from the Law School of Minzu University of China said that due to the strong territorial nature of trademark rights, trademark systems in different countries and regions exist certain differences. Once a trademark is infringed upon overseas, the difficulty and cost of successfully recovering it through legal procedures are relatively high. When entering overseas markets, enterprises may need to spend substantial amounts of money to purchase the infringed trademark, or even give up relevant overseas markets, affecting the internationalization process of the brand.
“Trademark infringement is one of the most common and challenging issues Chinese companies face in their ‘going global’ process. Some companies fail to register their trademarks in target markets before entering overseas markets, leading to their brands being maliciously infringed upon by local businesses or individuals, especially in countries and regions where the ‘first-to-file principle’ prevails.” said Shen Jian, a partner and lawyer at Beijing Roger Law Firm. Some companies’ ‘going global’ strategies focus on quick profits, paying more attention to short-term sales rather than long-term brand building. Their understanding of international trademark protection still lingers at the level of applying for trademark registration, often concentrated in major target markets while neglecting transit points, e-commerce platform locations, or potential markets. The scope of protected goods or services is also narrow, leaving them in a passive position when encountering trademark infringement or disputes overseas. At the same time, when facing overseas trademark infringement or infringement, companies often face high legal fees, high translation costs, and long timeframes in enforcing their rights. Moreover, the trademark legal systems and examination standards vary significantly across different countries, with complex procedures. Added to this are cultural and language barriers, which pose considerable challenges for companies in enforcing their rights.
The report shows that among the 59 well-known enterprises monitored by the Overseas Trademark Protection Working Committee of the China Trademark Association, with records of trademark hijacking, the average number of hijacked trademarks per enterprise is 3.2, unchanged from 2023. Among them, 34 enterprises have records of 2 or more hijacked trademarks, which is significantly higher than the 20 in 2023. The enterprise with the most hijacked trademarks in 2024 had 15, a decrease from the 19 in 2023. The remaining 25 enterprises each had 1 hijacked trademark, higher than the 18 in 2023.
“A typical feature of overseas trademark squatting is bulk registration. In the trademark field, there are some ‘professional squatitors’ who register a large number of trademarks and use them to enforce rights, often registering the trademarks of dozens or even hundreds of companies in an industry. These squatting trademarks may directly lead to ‘genuine’ Chinese-made products being recognized as ‘counterfeits,’ and companies need to engage in relatively difficult negotiations to reclaim their trademark rights.” Sun Zhifeng, a partner and lawyer at Beijing Zhuowei Law Firm, stated that the trademark system is geographically specific, and the trademark application and registration rules in some overseas countries or regions differ from those in China, making it more challenging for companies to enforce their rights when facing trademark squatting abroad.
Mark as a Paddle, Brand Sails
With the deepening of economic globalization, overseas intellectual property disputes have shown a high incidence trend, not only damaging the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises but also affecting their international competitiveness to a certain extent. In response, the National Intellectual Property Administration has taken a series of measures, establishing the National Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Response Guidance Center and continuously densifying the work network. To date, 99 local branches, 5 industrial branches, and 11 overseas branches have been established; it has also encouraged local governments to set up overseas dispute response guidance work stations and meticulously selected a group of overseas intellectual property dispute response guidance experts to provide enterprises with professional and efficient guidance services.
Meanwhile, the National Intellectual Property Administration continuously strengthens the supply of overseas intellectual property information, relying on the National Overseas Intellectual Property Information Platform to closely monitor and promptly release important information such as changes in intellectual property laws, policy adjustments, and typical cases in various countries, enabling enterprises to stay updated on the latest developments in overseas intellectual property in real time. It consistently publishes the “Guidelines for Trademark Protection in Key Overseas Countries,” providing targeted guidance for enterprises. It also continuously improves the monitoring and early warning mechanisms in key areas, establishing an active monitoring and timely alert system that allows enterprises to proactively identify potential overseas intellectual property risks in advance.
“Timely and comprehensive overseas trademark layout is a crucial foundation for enterprises to conduct trademark protection overseas. Enterprises should monitor trademarks in key countries or regions, particularly those where goods are produced, important markets, and potential markets, to promptly grasp relevant information and identify and resolve risks as early as possible.” said Ning Lìzhì, Director of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Competition Law at Wuhan University. Enterprises can monitor overseas trademark registration situations to understand whether their trademarks have been抢注 by others, enabling them to take relevant measures in stages such as examination or opposition of the抢注 trademarks, thereby avoiding disputes after the抢注 trademarks are registered. If enterprises have already encountered trademark抢注 disputes overseas, they should carefully analyze the situation, fully understand the trademark laws and institutional rules of the relevant countries or regions, and choose the most favorable strategy for the overall development of the enterprise, using appropriate means to promote the resolution of disputes.
“Strengthening the training of foreign-related intellectual property talent holds significant strategic importance for enhancing the protection of foreign-related trademark brands of Chinese enterprises.” said Shen Jian. It is hoped that China can further strengthen the construction of foreign-related intellectual property talent teams, cultivating a group of composite talents who are proficient in intellectual property laws, especially international rules, and possess foreign language skills, cross-cultural communication abilities, and business strategic thinking. These talents can assist enterprises in overseas trademark layout and protection efforts, safeguarding the “going global” of Chinese brands.
“Trademarks are the ‘passports’ for brands ‘going global.’ Enterprises should continuously strengthen their awareness of trademarks and brands. They must not only build a positive brand image in the international market through product quality and service reputation but also closely monitor the international market, promptly carry out overseas trademark layout, and actively address infringement disputes. Using trademarks as oars and brands as sails, they should navigate the world stage, showcase the charm of Chinese brands, and strike the strongest chord for Chinese brands.” said Xiong Wencong.
