On 28 September 2026, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released draft Measures on Handling Trademark Matters Following the Implementation of the Revised Trademark Law (the Draft Transition Measures) for public comment. Comments may be submitted before 12 November 2026. The revised Trademark Law will take effect on 1 January 2027. Although the Draft Transition Measures are not yet in force, they identify the dates that may govern pending proceedings and opposition periods. Rights holders should map those dates now and revisit their analysis when the final measures are issued.

Application of the old and revised laws

Article 2 of the Draft Transition Measures does not apply one test to every pending matter. Trademark applications, oppositions, appeals against refusal or non-registration, and the listed recordal or registration matters filed before 1 January 2027 would be governed by the revised Law if CNIPA issues its administrative decision or ruling on or after that date. In invalidation proceedings concerning a mark registered before 1 January 2027 and decided or ruled upon on or after that date, procedural questions would be governed by the revised Law, while substantive questions would be governed by the Trademark Law in force when the mark was registered. For cancellation and cancellation review applications filed before 1 January 2027 and decided on or after that date, the revised Law would govern procedure and the pre-revision Law would govern substance.

The Draft Transition Measures expressly exclude 1 January 2027 from “before” that date and include it in “on or after” that date. An invalidation analysis should therefore establish the challenged mark’s registration date before selecting the substantive law. The table summarizes the principal matters discussed in this alert and is not an exhaustive account of the draft.

Opposition deadlines across the year end

Article 33 of the current Trademark Law allows three months from preliminary publication to oppose a mark. Article 36 of the revised Law provides two months. Under Article 4 of the Draft Transition Measures, the publication date determines which period applies: the preliminary publication date for a national application, or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) publication date for an international registration. A mark published in December 2026 would retain the former three-month period even if that period runs into 2027. A mark published on or after 1 January 2027 would fall under the new two-month period. The change of year would neither restart an existing period nor revive one that has expired. The precise last day must still be calculated for each publication under the applicable procedural rules.

Brand watch records should capture the source and date of publication, applicable law, calculated deadline and internal owner. Rights holders should assess prior rights, the goods or services and available evidence soon after publication so that internal approvals do not consume a substantial part of the shorter period.

Other transition points requiring preparation

The revised Law expressly permits applications for motion marks from 1 January 2027. Article 3 of the draft would require a statement of the manner of use, one MP4 file of no more than 20 MB, three to nine JPEG still frames and a description consistent with the samples. If CNIPA requests evidence that the motion mark has acquired distinctiveness through use, the draft would allow 15 days from receipt of the notice to provide it. Prospective applicants should settle the representation of the mark and assemble evidence of its use and recognition in advance.

Articles 63 and 69 of the revised Law, together with Article 8 of the draft, address confirmation of a mark’s well-known status. Where evidence that a mark is well known to the relevant public in China is needed in overseas trademark examination or proceedings, a party may request confirmation by CNIPA under the statutory framework. The draft sets out a route through competent local trademark authorities for referral to CNIPA. Such confirmation responds to the evidentiary needs of a particular matter; it is not a general honorary designation.

Article 7 of the draft would apply the revised Law to misleading use of a previously registered mark if the conduct continues on or after 1 January 2027. It would also permit CNIPA to initiate cancellation of a previously registered mark that has become generic for its designated goods or has not been used for three consecutive years without justification, subject to investigation, notice and a decision. Articles 5 and 6 separately address voluntary surrender and the one-year registration bar following surrender of a registered mark; those provisions should be checked when planning a surrender or subsequent filing.

What to review in the fourth quarter of 2026

Businesses should inventory pending applications, oppositions, reviews, invalidations and cancellations, recording the filing, registration, publication and proceeding dates as relevant. For invalidation and cancellation matters, the file should identify procedural and substantive grounds separately. For marks approaching publication across the year end, opposition instructions and evidence should be prepared against the applicable period. If a pending CNIPA matter depends on the outcome of separate judicial or administrative proceedings, the availability of a stay should be evaluated under Article 41 of the revised Law; the existence of a related case alone does not automatically suspend the matter.

Until implementing regulations are revised, the draft would continue to apply the existing regulations except where they conflict with the revised Law, and would use the same approach for the current Trademark Examination and Adjudication Guidelines. The final transition measures may differ from the draft. Filing decisions and deadline calculations should be checked against the rules actually in force at the relevant time.

Primary sources

CNIPA notice and draft annexes (28 September 2026): https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/9/28/art_75_208337.html. Revised Trademark Law (26 June 2026): https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_3686_206940.html.

Disclaimer

This alert is provided for general information as of 29 September 2026. The Draft Transition Measures have not taken effect and may change. This alert is not legal advice on any particular matter, and its receipt or circulation does not create an attorney–client relationship. Applicable law and deadlines should be verified against the facts, the final measures and the relevant authority’s requirements.