Yes, you can look up trademarks, and in China it costs nothing: every registered and pending mark sits in a public CNIPA database. What a lookup will not tell you is whether your name is actually available to you, because availability in a first-to-file country turns on similar marks, the classes you need, and the goods you list. Here is how to check before you spend money.
What a trademark lookup can and cannot tell you
A lookup answers one narrow question: does this text already exist in this class? You can see whether a mark is live, pending, refused, cancelled or expiring, who filed it, which classes it covers, and the filing date. That is worth fifteen minutes of your time.
What it will not tell you is whether you will survive examination. CNIPA examiners refuse marks that differ in spelling but sound the same, and marks whose goods sit in related groups. A search shows text. It does not show the judgment that decides your application.
Step 1: Search the name and every variant around it
Two free databases cover China. CNIPA’s own search at sbj.cnipa.gov.cn holds the complete record, including applications that are still pending and have never been published in English. WIPO’s Global Brand Database is easier to use in English and includes Chinese marks, though it updates more slowly than the official register.
Then search wider than your exact spelling: singular and plural, words joined and separated, hyphens, and the misspellings a customer might type. If you will sell under a Chinese name, or your brand will be transliterated into Chinese characters, check that version too. We have watched a clean English check turn into a refusal because the Chinese transliteration was already registered to someone else.
Step 2: Fix the classes before you judge availability
Availability is per class, not per name. A name can be free in class 25 for clothing and blocked in class 35 for retail and advertising services, which is exactly the pair most online sellers need. The official e-filing fee is 270 RMB per class and covers ten goods or service items, so the class decision drives your risk and your budget at the same time.
File the classes you trade in now. You can add defensive classes later, but a later filing sits behind everyone who filed in the meantime.
Step 3: Read the results the way an examiner would
Status matters more than the name match.
- Registered and live. The strongest obstacle. If it covers the same goods, expect a refusal rather than a negotiation.
- Pending. Still blocks you. China is first to file, and a pending application that is later granted defeats yours.
- Refused, withdrawn or cancelled. Often a good sign, but read the date. A mark removed two months ago may be under review, or the owner may have refiled.
- Registered but unused for three years. Vulnerable to a non-use cancellation, but that is a separate proceeding you would have to run and win. Do not treat it as available.
Similar groups matter here. Inside a single class, goods are split into groups, and examiners cite across groups when the goods are related. A mark that looks clear in your group can still be refused because of a filing in a neighbouring one.
The traps that make a name look safer than it is
Two patterns repeat in the files we handle. The first is the near-miss: a name that returns nothing on an exact search but collides with a registered mark on sound, or on a difference of one letter. The second is the weak mark: a name that is free because it describes the product, which is exactly why CNIPA will refuse it for lack of distinctiveness.
Neither pattern is obvious from a raw result list, and both decide the outcome.
What to do when the name is taken
You have three options, in rough order of cost. Change the name before you file, and check the replacement the same way. Buy the mark or take a licence from the registered owner, which is common when the registration is dormant. Or file anyway and fight, which means a refusal review, an opposition or a cancellation action, plus a real chance of losing the official fee.
Filing into a known conflict is the most expensive way to find out that a name was taken.
Get a free preliminary check
Send us your brand name, the goods or services you sell, and the markets you care about. We run a preliminary conflict check against CNIPA records and come back within one to two business days with a plain answer: clear, risky, or blocked. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
If you decide to file, every plan includes a search of CNIPA records and a written risk note, and every trademark registration we handle shows the 270 RMB official fee as its own line. For the mechanics of the official database, our guide on checking whether a brand is already trademarked in China walks through it step by step.
Quick answers
Can you look up a trademark for free?
Yes. The CNIPA register and WIPO’s Global Brand Database are both free and need no account. What you pay for is interpretation, not access.
How do I know if my trademark name is available in China?
Search your exact name and its variants in each class you need, then check similar groups and phonetic matches. A name is available when no live or pending mark in those classes is identical or confusingly similar to it.
Is a dead trademark available?
Sometimes, and never automatically. A cancelled mark can still be cited while a related application is pending, and an unused registration can be revived by its owner or challenged by a cancellation action.
Can I search Chinese trademarks in English?
WIPO’s Global Brand Database accepts English input and returns Chinese marks. The official CNIPA register is in Chinese only, and it is where the complete and current record lives.
Sources: CNIPA trademark register and fee schedule (2026); PRC Trademark Law; WIPO Global Brand Database. This is general information, not legal advice, and outcomes depend on the individual case.
