Many businesses now get their products manufactured in China – it can be difficult for British manufacturers to compete, and quality is often more than adequate. In many cases, products are supplied from China with the UK company’s branding applied to the product.
A company’s brands may be protected in its main markets – perhaps the UK and Europe – but many businesses take the view that “we don’t sell in China, so there’s no need to register our trademarks there”.
We have become aware of several examples recently of Chinese companies seeking to register western brands in China. The risk to the UK client was that, if the Chinese company had succeeded in obtaining the registration, it might have been able to stop the original Chinese supplier from making and exporting the branded goods.
Fortunately, there was time for the UK brand owner to oppose, and our Chinese associates advised that this could be done on the basis of the UK and EU registrations and on evidence of the manufacturing that has already been carried out in China.
To avoid the risk of getting into a potentially costly and uncertain opposition in China, we would recommend registering your trademarks there if your products are manufactured there. This is not necessarily a costly procedure, especially when compared with the costs involved in legal proceedings. Having a registration in place may also serve to deter other Chinese companies from abusing the trademark.
Contact us now (01522 801111) for more information if you are sourcing your products from China.