Choosing the agency is the real decision
A foreign person without habitual residence in China, or a foreign enterprise without a place of business in China, files through a legally established trademark agency. That makes choosing and verifying the filing entity a practical decision before payment.
On this page
Start with the register, not the website
An agency that files trademark applications with CNIPA must appear on CNIPA’s public register. Check the register instead of relying only on what a website says.
- Ask for the agency’s Chinese entity name. Not the brand name, the registered company name.
- Look it up on CNIPA’s public agency inquiry.
- Confirm your application will be filed by that entity, not passed to an unnamed third party.
That check tells you whether the filing entity is recorded. Ginbing’s filing entity is Ginbing (Suzhou) Trading Co., Ltd. (金并（苏州）贸易有限公司), and we would rather you verify it than take this page’s word. The foreign-applicant agency rule explains why the agency is required at all.
Four things an agency should tell you before you pay
A trustworthy business makes the work, price, scope, and risks clear before it asks you to pay. A trademark agency should answer four questions in plain language:
- Who will file your application? The agency should name the Chinese entity and show you where to check its CNIPA record.
- What will you pay? The agency should give you the total price before you pay and explain the classes, included items, official fees, and possible extra charges.
- What does the fee cover? The agency should explain the work included in the quote. CNIPA provides a free public trademark search, while a professional search adds judgment about similar marks, subclasses, and filing risk. The agency should also tell you whether you will receive original notices and translations. See CNIPA official notices, explained.
- What can the agency promise? CNIPA decides whether an application is registered. China’s trademark agency rules prohibit promising results and exaggerating an agency’s success rate. Ask what happens if CNIPA refuses the application. See responding to a CNIPA refusal.
What transparency looks like
A transparent agency gives you these answers before you pay. It quotes the timeline as an estimate, names refusal as a real possibility, and makes the total price clear. Registration usually takes about 7 to 9 months. Ginbing’s price is USD 150 per class with the CNIPA fee and up to 10 items included. When you have run the checks, start a China trademark filing.
Read the durable filing references in Docs, or contact [email protected].