China offers two routes to a registered trademark. The Madrid route runs through WIPO. The national route runs directly through CNIPA, China’s trademark office. Both routes deliver the same ten-year right. They differ sharply in speed, cost, paperwork and risk.
In practice, the national route fits most single-market filings. CNIPA examined 6.15 million applications in 2025 and kept the average examination period at four months. The Madrid route adds a twelve-month refusal window on top of that. It also carries a five-year risk that a national filing never has.
The short answer
- Same right: ten years, renewable, same scope of protection.
- National route: about four months to the first decision, about seven months to registration.
- Madrid route: twelve months for a refusal decision, then registration. Budget eighteen months.
- Madrid pays off only when you file in four or more countries at once.
1. What each route actually is
The Madrid route
You file one international application through your home trademark office. WIPO’s International Bureau then checks the formalities. Finally, you designate China, and CNIPA examines the extension exactly as if you had filed there. China joined the Madrid Agreement in 1989 and has applied the Protocol since 1995.
The national route
You appoint a Chinese trademark agent. The agent files directly with CNIPA. After examination, publication and a three-month opposition window, CNIPA issues a registration certificate in Chinese. The four-step procedure is straightforward, and each step has a fixed deadline.
Older guides still call the office “CTMO”. In 2018 the Trademark Office was folded into CNIPA. Both names describe the same body, so do not let the terminology confuse you.
One country, three registers
A Madrid designation for China covers the mainland only. Hong Kong, China and Macao, China keep separate registers, and each needs its own filing. A mainland registration therefore protects nothing in Hong Kong, and a Hong Kong registration protects nothing in Shenzhen. Plan three filings if your market covers all three.
2. The two routes side by side
| Madrid route | National route | |
|---|---|---|
| Filing channel | WIPO, through your home office | Chinese agent, direct to CNIPA |
| Examination standard | CNIPA, same substantive test | CNIPA, same substantive test |
| First decision | up to 12 months | 4 months on average (2025) |
| Registration | about 18 months | about 7 months |
| Certificate | WIPO, English or French | CNIPA, Chinese |
| Goods scope | capped by your home filing | drafted freely for China |
| Answering a refusal | agent appointed late, 15 days | agent already in place |
| Link to home right | yes, five-year central attack | none |
| Renewal | through WIPO | direct with CNIPA |
| Official fee | CHF 653 + CHF 100 per class + China fee | RMB 300 per class (RMB 270 online) |
| Best for | four or more countries at once | China as the main market |
3. Where the Madrid route loses time
Twelve months is a ceiling, not a promise. CNIPA may use the full window before it issues a refusal. Meanwhile, your product may already be on sale in China. Foreign applicants filed about 20,000 Madrid extensions designating China in 2025, so the queue is real.
Second, a refusal triggers a hard deadline. Under Article 34 of the Chinese Trademark Law, you have fifteen days from receipt to file a review. Fifteen days is short for any overseas company. As a result, you must appoint a Chinese agent the moment the notice arrives.
Third, your goods list is capped by the home application. CNIPA often asks for a limitation, because Chinese practice divides each class into subclasses. A narrow home filing therefore produces a narrow Chinese right. This is why the Nice classification cannot simply be copied into a Chinese application.
4. The certificate problem nobody mentions
A WIPO certificate is a fine document. Chinese courts, market regulators, customs and e-commerce platforms, however, work in Chinese.
Consider what happens at enforcement. A customs recordal needs a Chinese registration number. Platform complaints need the same number. Courts ask for a Chinese certificate or an extract. Converting a WIPO certificate into a Chinese one takes weeks, and sometimes months.
By contrast, the national route hands you the Chinese certificate at registration. That saves time precisely when speed matters, and it removes an argument that a local infringer would otherwise raise.
5. The five-year central attack
Madrid filings depend on a home right. Under Article 6 of the Protocol, if your base application or registration is refused, withdrawn, cancelled or invalidated within five years, the international registration falls with it. Your Chinese designation falls too.
National filings carry no such link. Your Chinese registration stands on its own, whatever happens at home. If your brand faces a cancellation action or an ownership dispute in your home market, file nationally in China. Do not build your Chinese position on a fragile base.
6. Cost: when Madrid is actually cheaper
CNIPA charges RMB 300 per class for a paper filing, or RMB 270 online. Ten items are included, and each extra item costs RMB 30 or RMB 27. A Madrid application costs CHF 653 as a basic fee, plus CHF 100 for each class, plus China’s individual fee. On both routes, you also pay agent fees.
For one country and one class, the national route costs less. For six countries and three classes, Madrid wins clearly. The break-even point usually sits at three to four countries. Therefore, compare the total, not the headline fee.
7. Which route fits your case
Route choice depends on three variables: market coverage, enforcement plans and budget. Before you compare routes, however, confirm that the mark is registrable at all. China’s absolute and relative grounds apply equally to both routes.
- China is your main market, and you need one or two classes: file nationally.
- You need a certificate for a platform launch or a customs recordal: file nationally.
- You file the same mark in five or more countries: use Madrid.
- Your home registration is under attack: file nationally.
- You plan to license or enforce in China within a year: file nationally.
- You sell only online and rely on platform complaints: file nationally, because the platforms ask for a Chinese certificate.
8. A hybrid that most companies miss
Madrid and national filings are not exclusive. Many brand owners use both, and the combination often costs less than expected.
One pattern works well. File nationally in China for the two or three classes you will enforce. Then use Madrid for the rest of the world. You get a Chinese certificate quickly, and you keep one international renewal for everywhere else.
A second pattern suits groups with a Chinese subsidiary. The subsidiary files nationally, while the parent company runs the Madrid chain. Each entity then holds rights that match its commercial role, and licensing stays clean. In both patterns, registering copyright in the logo adds a second line of defence at little cost.
9. Timeline, month by month
| Month | National route | Madrid route |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | file with CNIPA | file through home office |
| 1-2 | formal examination | WIPO formal check |
| 4 | substantive decision | designation recorded |
| 5 | published for opposition | CNIPA examination begins |
| 5-8 | three-month opposition window | refusal window runs |
| 7-8 | registration certificate | registration in the fast case |
| 18 | – | registration in the slow case |
Frequently asked questions
No. The Protocol requires a base application or registration in your country of origin. You may file on a pending application, but the international registration then depends on that application.
No. CNIPA applies the same substantive standard to both routes. The right is identical, and the term is ten years.
CNIPA reports an average examination period of four months and a typical registration period of seven months. An opposition adds about three months.
Yes, within six months, under Article 25 of the Chinese Trademark Law. You must claim priority when you file, and you must submit a certified copy of the home application within three months.
CNIPA issues a provisional refusal through WIPO. You then have fifteen days from receipt to file a review, and you must appoint a Chinese agent to do it.
Yes. Under Article 49, any party may apply to cancel a mark that has not been used for three consecutive years. Keep dated evidence of sales, invoices and advertising in China.
Usually yes, if you market under a Chinese name. A Latin-only registration does not cover the Chinese version, and a local competitor may register it first. Bad-faith filings remain common, and recovery is slower than prevention.
10. What this means for your filing
Both routes lead to the same right. They do not lead there at the same speed, or with the same risk.
For a single market entry, file nationally. You will hold a Chinese certificate in about seven months, and nobody can attack it through your home rights. For a multi-country rollout, use Madrid, but consider a parallel national filing for the classes you will enforce in China.
Above all, file early. CNIPA examined 6.15 million applications in 2025, and the register held 53 million live marks at the end of that year. Good marks disappear while companies debate the route. Bad-faith filings make the squeeze worse. If a mark is already taken, recovering it costs far more than filing it.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about PRC law, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created by reading it. PRC law and local practice change frequently — confirm before relying on this content. © 2026 Chibridge Law Firm / China Law Help.
