# CNIPA's answers on altering and using a mark CNIPA's published replies from 2019 to 2022 on changing a registered mark's layout or font, the ® symbol, English and Japanese marks, the mark description, portraits, and descriptive words. Canonical URL: https://ginbing.com/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-altering-and-using Markdown URL: https://ginbing.com/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-altering-and-using/index.md ## TLDR CNIPA's published replies from 2019 to 2022 on changing a registered mark's layout or font, the ® symbol, English and Japanese marks, the mark description, portraits, and descriptive words. ## Guide Replies CNIPA published from 2019 to 2022 to questions about changing a mark, using it, and what a mark may contain, translated by Ginbing. Each reply links to its Chinese original on CNIPA's website. ## About these replies - **Official source.** [Trademark registration questions](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpublist.do?sysid=13), the public column where CNIPA answers trademark questions. Each reply links to its official page. - **Issued by.** CNIPA - **CNIPA's dates.** Each reply shows the date CNIPA answered. All of them date from 2019 to 2022. - **Checked against the official page.** November 6, 2026 > These are replies to individual questions. They are not rulings, and CNIPA decides each case on its own facts. The translations are Ginbing's own, not official, and Ginbing is not part of CNIPA. Only the Chinese text is official. Each heading is Ginbing's short summary of the point the reply answers; the asker's own words, which may cover other points, are on the official page. Greetings and contact details are left out, and long replies are shortened to the parts that answer the question. > **Warning:** These replies are older than those on CNIPA's other answer pages, and each states the position on its date. Where a [later reply](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-marks-and-use) or CNIPA's current guide differs, rely on the later source. They were written under the 2019 Trademark Law, and the [revised law](/docs/china-trademark/laws/trademark-law/2026) takes effect on January 1, 2027, with [some changed rules and article numbers](/docs/china-trademark/2027-trademark-law-changes). Fees and procedures can also change. Check the current rule before relying on one of these replies. ## Does rearranging the elements of a registered mark count as altering it? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of April 21, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=55015), translated by Ginbing ## A combined mark was registered in a top-and-bottom layout: can it be used side by side? > It must be registered again. > > [CNIPA reply of November 18, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=45792), translated by Ginbing ## A registered word mark is redesigned: does it need a new registration, what about an unregistered logo, and is there a size rule for TM or ®? > 1. It must be registered again. 2. An unregistered logo, if used, has no exclusive-right protection; you must judge for yourself whether it infringes another registered trademark. 3. There is no rule on proportions. > > [CNIPA reply of November 25, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=46271), translated by Ginbing ## To use a new font, must the existing registration be cancelled first? > Simply file a new registration application. > > [CNIPA reply of February 1, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=345603), translated by Ginbing ## Can the Chinese part of a registered combined mark be filed on its own? > In that situation you may apply again using the Chinese part of the current image alone, subject to the Trademark Office's examination. > > [CNIPA reply of October 25, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=409490), translated by Ginbing ## Must the ® symbol be used on a registered mark? > There is no mandatory requirement. Under Article 63 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law, a registered trademark in use may be marked with the words "registered trademark" or a registration symbol on the goods, packaging, instructions or other attachments. > > [CNIPA reply of October 29, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=44489), translated by Ginbing ## Can ® be added while the application is still pending? > No. The ® symbol can be added only after registration is approved. > > [CNIPA reply of April 13, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=351272), translated by Ginbing ## Can an all-English mark be filed, and must a mark sold in China contain Chinese? > 1. Under Article 8 of the Trademark Law, any sign that distinguishes the goods of a natural person, legal person or other organization from those of others, including words, graphics, letters, numerals, three-dimensional signs, color combinations and sounds, and combinations of these, may be filed for registration. 2. There is no mandatory requirement. > > [CNIPA reply of March 31, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=53434), translated by Ginbing ## Can a mark in Japanese be filed in mainland China? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of December 10, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=47238), translated by Ginbing ## Can symbols such as plus or minus signs be part of a mark? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of April 8, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=53985), translated by Ginbing ## A registered mark is refused as a company name: can it still be used as a mark? > The mark can be used. > > [CNIPA reply of September 26, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=42546), translated by Ginbing ## Can a mark held in an individual's name be used by that person's individual business? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of May 21, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=57172), translated by Ginbing ## Apart from tobacco, must any goods, such as cosmetics or medicines, carry a registered mark? > There is no mandatory requirement. > > [CNIPA reply of September 4, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=40983), translated by Ginbing ## Is there a pre-protection procedure for a mark before filing? > There is no such procedure. > > [CNIPA reply of March 19, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=25178), translated by Ginbing ## Does a Chinese registration apply in other countries? > A trademark applied for at and registered by CNIPA's Trademark Office is protected by the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China. Whether it can be used in other countries and regions depends on local laws and regulations. > > [CNIPA reply of January 18, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=23441), translated by Ginbing ## Must a copyright be registered to avoid opposition? > There is no such requirement. > > [CNIPA reply of November 20, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=46026), translated by Ginbing ## Which fonts are free to use in a mark? > Applicants should establish the font's copyright position before filing and determine for themselves whether it may be used free of charge. > > [CNIPA reply of March 16, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=348916), translated by Ginbing ## Is a disclaimer of part of a mark made in the mark description, and must the image show the disclaimer? > 1. Yes. 2. No. > > [CNIPA reply of August 20, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=39963), translated by Ginbing ## Can the image be changed after the acceptance notice? > The mark image cannot be changed. > > [CNIPA reply of September 7, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=334634), translated by Ginbing ## A three-dimensional mark was filed with three or four views: can six views of the same mark be supplied at correction? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of May 28, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=29592), translated by Ginbing ## The portrait in a mark is computer-generated: what must be filed? > If the image is computer-generated, simply say so in the mark description. > > [CNIPA reply of September 16, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=335348), translated by Ginbing ## A virtual character looks like a real person: what must be filed? > Where the mark image is a virtual character, state this in the mark description. > > [CNIPA reply of January 18, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=382869), translated by Ginbing ## The person in a portrait mark has died: what must be filed? > Where the person portrayed has died, attach a document proving that the applicant is entitled to dispose of the portrait. The document must include the portrait being filed as the mark image. > > [CNIPA reply of August 6, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=38976), translated by Ginbing ## A company wants to use a child's portrait as a mark: what is needed? > Submit an authorization statement from the legal guardian of the person portrayed, agreeing that the applicant may use the portrait in a trademark application. The statement must include a copy of that person's household register, a copy of the guardian's identity card, and the portrait being filed as the mark image. > > [CNIPA reply of April 11, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=389802), translated by Ginbing ## Does a portrait authorization need notarizing? > An application using another person's portrait as the mark image must say so and attach the portrait right holder's authorization. Notarization is not mandatory. The authorization must include the portrait being filed as the mark image and a copy of that person's identity card. > > [CNIPA reply of April 10, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=54193), translated by Ginbing ## A mark uses a performer's stage name: is proof linking it to the legal name needed? > No. > > [CNIPA reply of August 24, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=333537), translated by Ginbing ## Can a plain ingredient name, such as a kind of pepper, be registered? > Under Article 11 of China's Trademark Law, the following may not be registered: signs that consist only of the generic name, graphic or model of the goods; signs that only directly indicate the quality, main raw material, function, use, weight, quantity or other characteristics of the goods; and other signs lacking distinctiveness. But the law does not prohibit registration for goods or services in other classes where there is no obstacle such as an earlier right. And if, through long use and wide promotion, the applied-for sign has come to distinguish the source of goods and services, it may still be registered. > > [CNIPA reply of January 4, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=381305), translated by Ginbing ## Related pages - [CNIPA's answers on marks and use](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-marks-and-use) - [CNIPA: Application FAQ](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-guide-application-faq) - [CNIPA: Use evidence guide](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-guide-use-evidence)