# CNIPA's answers on non-use responses and evidence CNIPA's published replies from 2019 to 2022 on responding to non-use cancellation: deadlines, evidence format, masking amounts, assigned marks, repeat applications, and deferring a rival filing. Canonical URL: https://ginbing.com/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-non-use-evidence Markdown URL: https://ginbing.com/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-non-use-evidence/index.md ## TLDR CNIPA's published replies from 2019 to 2022 on responding to non-use cancellation: deadlines, evidence format, masking amounts, assigned marks, repeat applications, and deferring a rival filing. ## Guide Replies CNIPA published from 2019 to 2022 to questions about non-use cancellation, especially responding to it and the evidence, 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-non-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. ## What is non-use cancellation for? > A trademark lives through use. If a mark is not used after registration, it cannot serve its purpose, and it also blocks others with a genuine need from registering and using it, wasting limited trademark resources and harming economic development. > > [CNIPA reply of May 22, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=57224), translated by Ginbing ## My company is operating normally and matches the mark: why is a non-use application still accepted? > Use of a mark and the continued existence of its owner are not the same thing. > > [CNIPA reply of April 2, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=53655), translated by Ginbing ## Must an applicant for non-use cancellation supply evidence? > Under the latest Trademark Examination and Adjudication Guidelines, the applicant must set out specific grounds, describing the three consecutive years of non-use of the mark, and list the evidence from its preliminary investigation. > > [CNIPA reply of July 29, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=401793), translated by Ginbing ## Can non-use cancellation target one unused item within a registration? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of November 24, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=46248), translated by Ginbing ## Can non-use cancellation be filed against a mark in its grace period? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of October 20, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=337764), translated by Ginbing ## What happens when a non-use cancellation is filed against a mark, and is there a fee to respond? > When a non-use cancellation is filed against a mark, the Trademark Office, once it accepts the application, sends the owner a response notice (the Notice to Provide Evidence of Use). After receiving the notice, the owner must respond with use evidence within the statutory period. Having received the evidence, the Office decides, based on its validity, whether the mark stays valid or is cancelled. There is no fee for responding. > > [CNIPA reply of September 22, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=406857), translated by Ginbing ## The mark is in use, but I do not respond: will it be cancelled? > It will be cancelled if there is no response. > > [CNIPA reply of December 23, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=342166), translated by Ginbing ## The party that filed for cancellation has since been dissolved: must I still respond? > Yes. When the Trademark Office receives a cancellation application that meets the conditions for acceptance, it sends the applicant an acceptance notice and sends the owner the Notice to Provide Evidence of Use. > > [CNIPA reply of March 29, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=388632), translated by Ginbing ## The notice was returned undelivered: when does the two-month period start? > If the returned document is collected within one month of the notice of returned mail, the response period runs from the date of collection. If it is not collected within one month, it is treated as served 30 days from the date of that notice, and the response period starts. > > [CNIPA reply of November 9, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=338626), translated by Ginbing ## My company changed its name but not the mark's record: can I respond directly? > You can respond as normal; it has no effect. > > [CNIPA reply of September 29, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=371269), translated by Ginbing ## Can a different agency handle the non-use response without filing a change of agent? > You can go directly to a different agent for the response. > > [CNIPA reply of August 11, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=366517), translated by Ginbing ## Is there a set format for the non-use response? > There is no fixed format. Simply respond as the notice requires. > > [CNIPA reply of December 3, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=46782), translated by Ginbing ## The mark is used only in an online shop: do sales records need notarizing? > You can provide the sales records from the shop's back end and materials showing that the owner opened the shop on Taobao. Notarization is not required. > > [CNIPA reply of June 5, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=30177), translated by Ginbing ## Are scans of contracts and invoices accepted in place of originals? > You can submit originals or scans of originals. > > [CNIPA reply of December 31, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=342543), translated by Ginbing ## Can amounts on invoices and contracts be masked as trade secrets? > Details of goods and unit prices can be masked. The final amount cannot. > > [CNIPA reply of November 22, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=376162), translated by Ginbing ## Can original certificates and invoices be taken back after the case ends? > They cannot be returned. > > [CNIPA reply of February 5, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=346108), translated by Ginbing ## Can the applicant get a copy of the owner's evidence? > The evidence cannot be provided. There is no such procedure. > > [CNIPA reply of August 12, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=332626), translated by Ginbing ## Two marks appear on one package: does that count as use of both? > Use of a mark includes use on the outer packaging, containers or labels of goods, or on tags attached to goods, product instructions, brochures and the like. As long as it is used on the product packaging, it is use of the mark, whether there is one mark or several. > > [CNIPA reply of April 2, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=350219), translated by Ginbing ## A mark was assigned partway through the period: is evidence from after the assignment enough? > Yes, as long as it falls within the specified period, which in that case was September 16, 2017 to September 15, 2020. > > [CNIPA reply of November 26, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=339954), translated by Ginbing ## A mark targeted just after assignment: who submits evidence? > The current holder files the response with use evidence, and may submit the previous owner's evidence of use in the three years. > > [CNIPA reply of October 9, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=336425), translated by Ginbing ## Does assignment restart the three years? > No. It is the most recent three years within the mark's term. If an assignment has been filed, you can contact the assignor to submit evidence of use from before the assignment. > > [CNIPA reply of May 24, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=355343), translated by Ginbing ## Can a mark under a non-use application be assigned or transferred? > Yes. > > [CNIPA reply of December 16, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=47595), translated by Ginbing ## The owner has been dissolved but a related company uses the mark: how is the response made? > The respondent is still the company as registered. Because it has been dissolved, the power of attorney can be signed instead of sealed. The evidence can concern the related company, but there must be a license agreement or authorization with it. > > [CNIPA reply of May 31, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=395440), translated by Ginbing ## Is an unrecorded license contract recognized in a non-use case? > A license contract signed by both parties is recognized. > > [CNIPA reply of March 7, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=386278), translated by Ginbing ## A mark survives a non-use case: when can it be targeted again? > An application can be filed; there is no time limit. > > [CNIPA reply of December 31, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=342639), translated by Ginbing ## Can a second party file for non-use cancellation while a first case is pending? > It will not be rejected, and a mark is not limited to one case at a time. > > [CNIPA reply of December 20, 2019](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=47953), translated by Ginbing ## Two parties file against one mark: must evidence be supplied twice? > The two cases each need a response with use evidence, but the party may also declare that it relies on the evidence from the earlier case: > Where the party has already filed use evidence in the earlier case and it can prove use in the present case, it need not be filed again. The earlier evidence must match or overlap with the present case in time of use, goods or services, and the sign used. > A party relying on the earlier evidence must return, with the Notice to Provide Evidence of Use, a written statement giving the earlier case's application number and the mark's registration number so the examiner can find it. If this is not stated, or is too unclear to find, the evidence is treated as not filed in the present case. > Where the party files evidence in the present case and also relies on the earlier evidence, any conflict is resolved in favor of the evidence filed in the present case. > > [CNIPA reply of July 19, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=400798), translated by Ginbing ## Three marks in different classes share evidence: can the cases be merged? > They can be filed as three sets of evidence. The cases will not be merged. > > [CNIPA reply of April 14, 2022](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=390607), translated by Ginbing ## The legal representative was seriously ill for three years: is that a justifiable reason? > No. The following are justifiable reasons for three consecutive years of non-use: 1. force majeure; 2. government policy restrictions; 3. bankruptcy liquidation; 4. other justifiable causes not attributable to the owner. > > [CNIPA reply of March 30, 2020](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=53325), translated by Ginbing ## A mark frozen by a court is targeted: is the application accepted? > The application is accepted as normal. The Trademark Office sends paper notices to the court and the owner and still waits for the owner's response, which can rely on a justifiable reason for non-use, with materials such as the court's ruling or local government documents. > > [CNIPA reply of November 22, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=375885), translated by Ginbing ## Part of a registration is cancelled: does the number change? > The registration number does not change. It stays the original number. > > [CNIPA reply of September 2, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=368320), translated by Ginbing ## A mark registered after surviving opposition: from when do the three years run? > From the date of the registration announcement. > > [CNIPA reply of July 23, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=361300), translated by Ginbing ## I file for non-use cancellation and for the same mark at once: can examination of my filing wait for the result? > When filing, also ask the Trademark Office to defer examination. It is then examined after the non-use case ends. > > [CNIPA reply of March 11, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=348255), translated by Ginbing > You can write in stating your request, and the examiner decides. > > [Later CNIPA reply of July 10, 2025](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=498453), translated by Ginbing ## The cited mark has been cancelled: must I ask for my deferred application to resume? > There is no need to ask for it to resume. The examiner proceeds according to the status of the earlier mark. > > [CNIPA reply of September 6, 2021](https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/jact/front/mailpubdetail.do?sysid=13&transactId=368562), translated by Ginbing ## Related pages - [CNIPA's answers on non-use cancellation](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-answers-non-use) - [CNIPA: Use evidence guide](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-guide-use-evidence) - [CNIPA: Non-use cancellation guide](/docs/china-trademark/cnipa-guide-non-use-cancellation)