Bad-Faith Trademark Filings in China

A squatter’s first filing can still be attacked if you use the right clock and the right bad-faith theory.

First-to-file is the default, but the Trademark Law rejects applications not intended for use, and allows opposition and invalidation where the filer copied a prior mark, traded in applications, or otherwise acted in bad faith. Prior use, correspondence with a factory, a pattern of hoarding, and your own earlier foreign registrations are typical exhibits — they rarely beat a clean first filing by themselves, but they support bad faith. The opposition window after publication is short. Invalidation has its own grounds and times. Buying the mark is sometimes faster than fighting. File your own mark before the next SKU ships.