If your distributor registered your trademark in China without permission, Article 15 may support a challenge. Check the filing’s status immediately. Oppose during preliminary publication, the public notice before registration. Seek invalidation after registration. Preserve evidence before confronting the distributor. Neither procedure automatically puts the mark in your name.

Article 15 bars specified unauthorized agent filings and knowing filings through other business relationships. Article 18 requires a foreign applicant to use a lawfully established trademark agency. Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration (国家知识产权局, CNIPA), Trademark Law, July 2019. https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/7/30/art_95_28179.html

Law and procedures checked October 22, 2026.

Have a China-qualified trademark lawyer check the record and filing deadline. Retrieve the application number and applicant’s legal name, plus the goods list and publication or registration dates. The table below uses the law currently in force. Statutory decision periods are not promises of a finished case, and the 2027 change matters if the dispute runs into next year.

Distributor registered my trademark in China: routes

Route	Deadline or trigger	Evidence needed	Decision period or timing caveat
Opposition	Within 3 months of preliminary publication	Mark and covered goods; relationship and consent or prior-use evidence	12 months from the publication window’s expiry; possible 6-month extension
Article 15 invalidation	Generally within 5 years of registration	Relationship and registration records; consent or prior-use evidence for the ground claimed	12 months from receipt of the request; possible 6-month extension
Negotiated transfer	Agreement while rights remain transferable	Registry details, signed transfer papers and related marks	Negotiation has no fixed duration; rights pass after approval and announcement
New mark	Search for conflicting marks before applying; a search is not approval	Applicant documents, mark and goods list	Examination within 9 months, plus a 3-month opposition window if accepted; no guaranteed completion date

These periods come from Articles 28, 33, 35, 42 and 45. The five-year limit has an exception for a well-known mark owner challenging bad faith. Source: CNIPA, Trademark Law, 2019 amendment, July 2019. https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/7/30/art_95_28179.html

Ask counsel to calculate each mark’s deadline from the official record. Negotiations do not buy extra time to oppose. An appeal or a suspended proceeding can extend the dispute beyond the table’s administrative decision period. The table excludes court proceedings.

Prove how the distributor knew the mark

Article 15 covers an agent or representative registering the principal’s mark without authorization. Its second paragraph addresses certain other relationships where the applicant knew of a previously used, unregistered mark and filed the same or a similar mark for the same or similar goods.

The Supreme People’s Court includes sales agents and distributors in the first-paragraph rule. It also covers filings during negotiations to establish an agency or representative relationship. Source: Supreme People’s Court (最高人民法院), judicial interpretation, Article 15, January 2017. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/34732.html

Match the applicant’s legal name to your contracting party. If they differ, collect evidence of the connection.

The distribution agreement and its drafts belong in the file, along with dated emails and original attachments. Product artwork sent before the filing can help establish what the applicant saw. Orders and invoices should identify the trading parties.

For WeChat, keep the account details with the exported exchange. Back up records before closing accounts or cutting access.

Build a timeline against the application date. Include what you sent and when the distributor received it. Counsel will need the originals to assess authentication and translation requirements.

What the MASkin case shows

The claimant in the MASkin dispute said its shareholders had created the MASkin mark and that the applicant had been working with it by email before seeking registration.

In the MASkin invalidation case, the claimant dated the business relationship to February 8, 2012; the trademark application followed on February 22. The review body found pre-filing business ties and held that registration for masks and certain related goods breached Article 15(2). Source: CNIPA, publishing China Intellectual Property News (中国知识产权报), selected 2018 trademark review cases, April 2019. https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/4/26/art_55_126744.html

Earlier dealings helped establish that the applicant knew the mark. Other products and relationships need their own evidence. The published account gives no recovery time or damages figure.

Check the rights you will hold afterward

Invalidation removes the other party’s registration. It does not award you a replacement registration. Any damages claim needs a separate assessment. Have counsel check for other conflicting filings and plan your own application alongside the challenge.

Article 50 bars approval of identical or similar marks for one year after invalidation. Article 42 requires related marks to transfer together in specified circumstances, and makes transfer rights effective on announcement. Source: CNIPA, Trademark Law, 2019 amendment, July 2019. https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/7/30/art_95_28179.html

That approval restriction is separate from when an application can be filed.

A transfer may preserve the existing registration if both sides agree. The registry search should extend beyond the Latin name to the Chinese name and logo. Put the full mark schedule in the agreement and tie payment to documented transfer steps.

The agreement needs a remedy if approval fails. Have that drafted before you pay the whole amount.

Keep store access separate. A Tmall Global store’s login or a signed brand authorization is not the same asset as a trademark registration. The distributor replacement guide covers the wider exit; each account needs its own handover record.

If a new name is the practical route, clear it before printing packaging. Our brand localization service covers the naming work. Your legal adviser should confirm the registration strategy.

A shorter opposition window is coming

The revised Trademark Law takes effect January 1, 2027. Its relationship rule is Article 22; Article 36 sets a two-month opposition period. Source: CNIPA, revised Trademark Law and commencement report, June 2026. https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_3686_206940.html https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_55_206931.html

Do not apply the shorter window to an older publication without checking the transition rules.

The court’s September proposal would preserve three months for marks published before the new law starts. It remains a consultation draft at this review date, not a final transition rule. Source: Supreme People’s Court, consultation on trademark transition and judicial interpretations, September 2026. https://www.court.gov.cn/hudong/xiangqing/511791.html

Questions before you contact the distributor

Should I negotiate before filing a challenge?

Have counsel check and protect the applicable deadline first. Negotiation can run alongside a challenge, but a promise to transfer gives you no reason to let a filing window expire. Agree the covered marks and evidence of completion before you withdraw a proceeding or release payment.

Does filing my own trademark solve the problem?

It starts a separate application. An earlier conflicting registration can still block approval, and submitting papers does not grant a registered right. Clear the proposed mark and ask counsel how the challenge affects your application. Keep the filing receipt; wait for the registration certificate before claiming a registered right.

How do I prevent this with the next distributor?

Arrange clearance and filing before sharing launch artwork. Name the intended rights owner in the application. Set the distributor’s authority in writing. Our distributor selection guide helps structure the commercial checks; Compass supports the partner search. Neither replaces a legal review of the mark or contract.

Request a Compass shortlist.