Issuance of “Measures for the Expedited Examination of Trademark Applications for Registration”

To implement the important guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping on "improving the intellectual property examination system", the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNIPA) formulated and issued the Measures for the Expedited Examination of Trademark Applications for Registration (for Trial Implementation) on January 18, 2022. On July 7, 2025, the Measures for the Expedited Examination of Trademark Applications for Registration was officially issued and put into effect by the CNIPA.

1.     Where a trademark registration application falls under any of the following circumstances, the applicant may request an expedited examination:

1)    Those involving strategic emerging industries for national development such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and deep-sea technology, as well as future industries such as biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G, where there is an urgent need to obtain exclusive trademark rights;

2)    Those involving marks related to national or provincial major projects, key programs, major scientific and technological infrastructure, important events, major exhibitions, and significant cultural heritage, where there is urgency for trademark protection;

3)    Those involving the modern industrial system promoted by provincial people's governments and industrial chains laid out around the development of new productive forces, where the trademark has already been used;

4)    Those directly related to responding to sudden public incidents such as particularly major natural disasters, particularly major accidents, particularly major public health emergencies, and particularly major social security incidents during the period of such incidents;

5)    Those that are indeed necessary for serving the high-quality development of the economy and society and promoting the implementation of the outline for building a powerful intellectual property nation, or those that have significant practical significance for safeguarding national interests, social public interests, or major regional development strategies.

2.     Requirements for Application:

1)    Consent from all applicants has been obtained;

2)    The application is filed online;

3)    The applied-for trademark is character, design, letter, number, or a combination of the above elements;

4)    The designated goods or service items are closely related to the circumstances listed above, and are the acceptable goods and service items publicly released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA);

5)    No priority claim has been filed;

6)    The applied-for trademark is not collective trademark or certification trademark.

3.     Required Materials:

1)    Application form for Expedited Examination of Trademark Applications for Registration;

2)    Supporting documents proving compliance with the circumstances listed above;

3)    Recommendation letter for the expedited examination issued by the relevant departments of central state organs, provincial people's governments, or their general offices; or review opinion on the grounds for the expedited examination request and the authenticity of relevant materials issued by provincial intellectual property administrative departments.

4.     Timeframe for Expedited Examination:

If the CNIPA approves the expedited examination, it shall complete the examination within 20 working days. If it disapproves the expedited examination, the examination shall be conducted in accordance with the general procedures prescribed by law.

5.     During the expedited examination process, if any of the following circumstances is found in the trademark application for registration, the expedited examination procedure may be terminated:

1)    The trademark application for registration is required by law to undergo amendment, explanation, or supplementation, or to go through the examination procedure for applications filed on the same day;

2)    After submitting the application for expedited examination, the trademark applicant requests suspension of examination;

3)    There are other circumstances that make expedited examination impracticable.