CNIPA asks for a certified copy of your earlier application, not the filing receipt. The copy comes from the office that received that application, it can follow your Chinese filing by up to three months, and it needs a Chinese translation. Here is what the document is, where it comes from, and what gets rejected.
What the rule asks for
Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations sets two obligations when priority is claimed. The declaration goes in when the application is filed. A copy of the earlier application follows within three months, and where the earlier application is in a foreign language, so does a Chinese translation.
The copy has to be either the original document or a copy certified by the office that received it. That is the clause that decides what you need to order, and it is why a printout from a register is not the right document.
Filing receipt or certified copy: the difference that matters
| Filing receipt | Certified copy | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The office’s confirmation that your application was received | The application document itself, carrying the office’s certification |
| What it proves | Number, date, classes, applicant | The content of the application as filed, including the goods and services |
| Who issues it | Automatic, at filing | On request, as a separate paid service |
| Enough for CNIPA | No | Yes, with the translation |
The receipt is still useful: it is what we read to confirm your first filing date and to compare the goods lists. It just is not the document CNIPA wants filed.
Where the copy comes from
The issuing office is the one that received the earlier application, and each office runs its own process.
- EUIPO. Certified copies are requested through their own service, for applications and registrations alike. See EUIPO certified copies.
- National offices. Most run an equivalent service, and some issue the copy electronically within days. Where the earlier filing was made at a national office, the request goes there.
- International registrations. Where the earlier right is a Madrid international registration, the copy comes from the International Bureau rather than a national office, which changes the lead time.
Our foreign filing desk handles this step. You do not order anything: we take the application number off your receipt, request the copy through the issuing office, and prepare the Chinese translation when it arrives.
Counting the three months
The three months run from the Chinese filing date, not from the earlier filing date and not from the day you decide to order the copy. Two consequences follow from that.
First, the deadline is known in advance: we tell you the exact date when we file. Second, the work has to be started before the window opens rather than after, because a certified copy can take weeks to be issued by the office, and the translation adds days on top.
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Chinese application filed with the declaration | Day 0 |
| Certified copy requested from the issuing office | Within the first weeks |
| Copy issued and translated | Weeks after the request |
| Copy and translation submitted to CNIPA | Before day 90 |
Translation problems that cost time
The translation is not a word-for-word exercise. It has to line up with the way the earlier application names its goods and services, because a mismatch is the fastest way to a query from the examiner.
What we watch for:
- Class numbers translated as text instead of left as numbers.
- Goods wording that drifts from the register’s own terminology, which invites a correction notice.
- Missing annexes where the copy is issued with a schedule or a class list attached.
- Certification pages left untranslated, which leaves CNIPA unable to see what the certifying office said.
Done properly, the translation is boring. That is the point.
What the document actually contains
A certified copy is not a single page. It is the earlier application as it was filed, with the office’s certification attached, and in a multi-class filing that means several parts:
- the certification page or stamp, showing which office issued it and for which application number;
- the application form itself, with the applicant, the mark and the filing date;
- the goods and services schedule, class by class, which is the part CNIPA compares against your Chinese lists;
- any annexes the office issues with it, such as a class list.
That structure is why the translation is longer for a multi-class filing than for a class-by-class one, and why we describe the pricing by document rather than by class. One document can be short or substantial depending on how the earlier application was filed.
What goes wrong when the copy is ordered late
Late orders fail in three ways, and all three are avoidable.
- The office’s own lead time. Certification is a service with a queue. Ordering in month three means the window can close while the request is still being processed.
- Translation after the copy, not with it. Treating the translation as a separate task shortens the effective window by days or weeks.
- Format queries. Where a document comes back for a reason, the replacement has to fit inside the same ninety days, and by then there is no time to spare.
The fix is administrative rather than legal: request the copy in the first weeks after the Chinese filing, and let the translation run in parallel once the format is known.
Checklist for this step
- The first filing has been confirmed, not assumed, and the receipt is on file.
- The issuing office is identified, and its process for certified copies is known.
- The request goes out in the first weeks after the Chinese filing, not in the last.
- The translation follows the register’s own wording for the goods and services.
- The exact day-90 date is written down when the applications are filed.
Quick answers
Can I send a screenshot from the register?
No. CNIPA asks for the application document or a copy certified by the office that received it.
Do I have to order the copy myself?
No. Send us the application number and we handle the request and the translation. You receive the documents that come back.
What if the copy does not arrive in time?
The claim is treated as never made, and your application keeps the Chinese filing date. That is why the request goes out early rather than late.
Is one copy enough for several Chinese applications?
Yes. One certified copy supports every Chinese application that relies on the same earlier filing.
Does the copy have to be an original?
Either the original or a certified copy of it. Electronic issue is fine where the issuing office provides it that way.
Sources
Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations of the PRC Trademark Law; Article 25 of the PRC Trademark Law; WIPO, Paris Convention, Article 4; EUIPO certified copies; CNIPA. General information, not legal advice, and outcomes rest with CNIPA.
Send us the receipt and the number
Forward the receipt for your earlier application and we will confirm the issuing office, the fastest route to the certified copy, and the day-90 deadline on your file, at no charge. The whole sequence is set out in how to claim priority in China, with the background in our priority claim guide. When you are ready to file, the applications run through our China trademark registration service and a quote follows within 24 hours of your message.
