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COPYRIGHT BKIP 2019
Can self-invented character be used for trademark registration in China? Jun 2019
The amount of application for trademark registration in China is rising every year. It has become more and more difficult to compose word marks from the limited word characters. Many people have started to carry out unconventional designs on texts and apply for registered trademarks with “creative Chinese characters” to highlight the unique creativity and individuality of the trademark.
So, is it possible to apply for a trademark with self-invented Chinese characters?
Some applicants know that, during the process of designing a trademark, if the font design of Chinese characters is different from the rest of the design, it can pass the review. However, if it is over-exaggerated and amounts to a “non-standard Chinese character”, it will mostly be rejected. The followings are some typical examples:
1. The character is defective and only contains part of the original character. This results in non-standard use of the character, which may easily cause consumers’ misunderstanding of their writings and result in unwholesome social influence;
for example; the applicant’s trademark is “ ”，the standard Chinese characters for the trademark should be:“及茶里”
2. Containing self-invented words. This results in non-standard use of character, which may easily cause consumers’ misunderstanding of the writings and result in unwholesome social influence;
for example; the applicant’s trademark is “ ”， the standard Chinese characters for the trademark should be:“留学”
3. Lack of strokes in the character. This results in non-standard use of character, which may easily cause consumers’ misunderstanding of the writings and result in unwholesome social influence;
for example; the applicant’s trademark is“ ”，the standard Chinese characters for the trademark should be:“上卿臻盏”
This is because the use of non-standard Chinese characters for trademark registration is likely to result in unwholesome social influence, which constitutes the stipulated situation in Article 10, paragraph 1 (8) of the Trademark Law. This is to protect the writing culture of the Chinese characters in China. Such stipulation almost shares the identical purpose for trademark review stipulation in the class of idiom.
Article 10, paragraph 8 of the Trademark Law stipulates that: logos that are detrimental to socialist ethics or customs, or having other unwholesome influences cannot be used as trademarks.
A typical case is that Alibaba has once applied for registration of the trademark“福”, No. 22075541, and such application was rejected. Viewing from the legend of the trademark, the word is similar to the word“福”but is different from the word“福”. It is a self-invented variant.


Therefore, self-invented Chinese characters do not comply with the stipulations under the Trademark Law. It is recommended that applicants do not use their self-invented Chinese characters, but they may demonstrate their stylistic design on the artistic expression of Chinese characters. It is best not to be over-exaggerated. Otherwise, the examiner may identify it as "non-standard Chinese character" and reject the application.