Amendments to trademark fees in China

The National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) has recently announced significant amendments to its intellectual property fees. These fees are effective as of July 1, 2019, and exclusively concern trademarks.

The official fee for trademark renewal had previously constituted CNY 1000; however, it was reduced to CNY 500, constituting a 50% decrease. Applications filed online will benefit from a further 10% discount, which reduces the fee to CNY 450.

Fees for recordals of change such as alterations to address or name were decreased from the previous CNY 250 to CNY 150. Requests filed online will not be charged any official fees for these changes.

In addition to the filing of an application, the following actions will also benefit from the 10% reduction when filed online: requests for renewal and late payment of renewal, re-issuance of certificates, oppositions, cancellations, recordals of license as well as assignments. For example, when filed on paper, the fee for delayed renewal will incur a surcharge of CNY 250, dropping to CNY 225 when filed online. The fee for issuance of a trademark certificate decreases from CNY 50 to CNY 45 when filed online, whilst the fee for recordal of assignment falls from CNY 500 to CNY 450 when filed electronically. It is worth noting, however, that for a temporary period, oppositions, cancellations and invalidations may not be submitted online.