A trademark protects your brand name and logo. A design patent protects how your product looks. Most product businesses need both, and the fastest way to protect a physical product in China is a design patent.
What a China trademark protects
A trademark covers your brand name, logo, or slogan in the classes where you file. It stops others from selling under your brand or a confusingly similar one. It does not protect the appearance of the product itself.
What a China design patent protects
A design patent protects the visual appearance of a product: its shape, pattern, color, or a combination. If a factory or marketplace seller starts selling a lookalike, the design patent is what you use to stop them. It does not protect your brand name.
Cost and timeline compared
| China trademark | China design patent | |
|---|---|---|
| Official fee | About $39 per class | About $180 through grant, first year included |
| Typical timeline | About 7 months | 6 to 12 months |
| Protection term | 10 years, renewable | 15 years from filing |
| Best for | Brand names and logos | Product design and packaging |
The strategy most sellers use
File the trademark to own the brand, and file the design patent for any product with a distinctive look. Together they cover the two ways competitors attack you: using your name and copying your product.
A common gap: brands file the name, then find out the packaging itself is being copied. Packaging counts as a design. If your product or its box has a distinctive look, file both. See our trademark and design patent service pages, or ask us which combination fits your product.
