Seeing China for what it really is...
Trademark or not to trademark is a reoccurring question in China… Or more to the point, when to file for trademark registration?
To make everything as simple as possible for yourself and your company, do not waste time thinking of this question… Just spend the money and seek trademark registration immediately. Chinese law is very peculiar in this respect… First to file gets the trademark in 99% of the cases, irrespective of their perceived “fair right to the trademark”…
Admittedly, there are ways to combat someone owning a trademark that should in all fairness be yours, but why spend the money on lawyers after the fact when it is so easy to do it prior to getting into trouble? Furthermore, even if the trademark is rightfully yours (in your eyes), it does not mean that you will prevail in a Chinese court of law and the ramifications could eventually then be that you will have to go through an entire re-branding process in China.
Another, and yet related issue, is domain registration and online brand ownership in China. If you have not trademarked your brand, anyone and everyone is allowed to register and use any domain name with a .cn or .com.cn prefix. Actually, regardless of your trademark being registered or not in China, anyone can register any domain they want, and without you having a right to the trademark, you have microscopic chances of ever gaining control of the domain, or at least forcing someone that uses it in a way that could be confused with your trademark to cease and desist.
If you have a valid trademark already registered in China, and someone infringes on your online brand positioning, you can go to the arbitration body in Hong Kong for domain name disputes and have the domain blocked and potentially transferred to you if that is what you want.
In any case, as inadequate the Chinese legal system is in protecting brand names and trademarks in general, if you have not crossed your t’s and dotted your i’s, you will stand zero chance of prevailing.
So, instead of wondering if you should file for trademark protection, stop your pondering and just trademark already…