Claiming priority in China takes five steps: confirm which earlier filing counts, line the goods lists up, declare the claim when we file, then get the certified copy and its Chinese translation to CNIPA within three months. You send us the application number. Everything else runs through our foreign filing desk.
Step 1: Confirm which filing counts
Priority has to run from the first application for that mark, not the most recent one. In practice three situations come up:
- One filing, one office. Straightforward. The number on the receipt is the basis, and the six months run from that date.
- Benelux first, EU later. Common with Dutch and Belgian brand owners. The Benelux filing is the first application, so that is the date to claim. Claiming from the EU application would shorten your window and can invalidate the claim.
- Home country first, then a regional filing. The same rule applies. The earliest application for the mark wins, whichever office issued it.
We check this against the receipt before quoting, because a claim built on the wrong filing fails on its own terms. If you are not sure which filing was first, send us every receipt for the mark and we will work it out.
Step 2: Line the two goods lists up
Priority follows the goods and services, item by item. Anything that appears in both the earlier application and the Chinese list carries the earlier date. Anything that appears only in the Chinese list keeps the Chinese filing date.
So the second step is a comparison, not a copy. A worked example from a recent file:
| Earlier application | Chinese list | Carries the earlier date? |
|---|---|---|
| Software, recorded | 计算机软件（已录制） | Yes |
| Mobile applications | 可下载的手机应用软件 | Yes |
| Electronic pens | 电子笔 | Yes |
| (not in the earlier filing) | 计算机外围设备 | No, Chinese filing date |
Where the Chinese list has items the earlier filing never covered, you have two choices: accept the later date for those items, or adjust the list so more of it sits inside the earlier application. We set the two lists side by side and mark every item before anything is filed, which is also why the goods list is confirmed in writing by you.
Step 3: The declaration, made at filing
The claim is declared in writing when the Chinese application is filed. There is no way to add it afterwards, and this is the single most common way priority claims are lost.
What goes into the declaration:
- the office that received the earlier application;
- the application number and the filing date;
- the classes claimed, where the earlier application covers several;
- the mark, matching the earlier filing.
We prepare it and it goes in with the application. You do not need to sign anything at this stage beyond the power of attorney that covers the filings themselves.
Step 4: The certified copy and the translation
The declaration is the claim. The certified copy is the evidence. CNIPA wants a copy of the earlier application document, certified by the office that received it, and a Chinese translation of that copy.
Three practical points:
- A filing receipt is not enough. It proves the application exists, but it is not the certified document.
- The copy can follow the filing. Three months from the Chinese filing date is the window, under Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations.
- The translation is ours. We prepare it, so nothing in this step depends on your side.
Our foreign filing desk requests the certified copy, following the issuing office’s own process. Where the earlier application came from EUIPO, that means their certified copies service.
Step 5: Close the file properly
Filing the copy is not the end. The three-month deadline is the part that decides whether the claim survives, and a document that comes back for a format reason has to be replaced inside the same window.
What we watch for you: whether CNIPA accepts the copy as filed, whether the translation needs a correction, and whether any notice arrives that needs input from your side. If the claim is refused, the application continues with the Chinese filing date as its effective date. That is not a disaster, but it is the outcome the buffer in the schedule exists to avoid.
Timeline for a typical claim
| Stage | When | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm the first filing and compare goods lists | Before quoting | Us, from your receipt |
| Declaration written into the applications | At filing | Us |
| Applications filed, application numbers issued | The day you confirm and sign | Us |
| Certified copy requested from the issuing office | From the filing date | Us |
| Copy and translation submitted to CNIPA | Within three months of the filing date | Us |
| Receipts, notices and the registration certificate | Through examination | Us, in English |
What it costs
Priority is quoted per document, and the number of documents follows the earlier application:
- US$699 per document where the earlier application is one number covering several classes, which is the usual shape of an EU filing;
- US$599 per document where each class was filed as its own application.
Official fees are included in both figures. One document can support several Chinese applications, so the four word mark applications in a typical file share a single document. The filings themselves are priced per class on our pricing page.
Five mistakes that lose the claim
- Claiming from the wrong filing. The second or third application for the same mark is not the basis, and the claim can fail on that alone.
- Treating the receipt as the certified copy. The window passes while the wrong document is being chased.
- Leaving the declaration for later. It cannot be added after filing.
- Letting the three months run without the translation. The copy without a translation is not a complete submission.
- Filing the claim on the last day of the window. Any problem then becomes unfixable, and the goods list is the first thing that suffers.
If you have no earlier filing to claim from
Not every brand arrives with a receipt in hand, and the absence of one is not a problem with the filing. It means your Chinese application takes effect on the day it is filed, which in a first-to-file country is the date that matters.
Two things are worth doing in that situation. First, file before the brand appears anywhere public, because a launch, a trade fair or a marketplace listing is what a squatter reacts to. Second, spend the search effort on the classes you are actually going to use, since the earlier date you do not have cannot be recovered later; the only way to be first is to be first. If you later file the same mark abroad, priority runs forward from that filing, not backwards to this one.
A related case is an earlier filing that has expired or been withdrawn. Priority needs the first application to have existed, and a lapsed registration is a different problem from a lapsed application. Send us whatever you have and we will tell you which side of that line it falls on.
Quick answers
Do I need to send anything before filing?
The application number, filing date and goods list from the earlier filing. The receipt carries all three. Everything else is prepared on our side.
Can the same document cover several Chinese applications?
Yes. One priority document supports every Chinese application that relies on it, including word mark applications in different classes.
What if my earlier application is still pending?
That is normal and it does not block the claim. Priority rests on the filing, not on the outcome of the earlier application.
Can you claim priority for a logo as well?
Only if the earlier application was for that same logo. A word mark filing cannot support a figurative application; the marks have to match.
How long does the whole thing take?
The claim is part of the filing, so it adds no time to the application itself. The certified copy and translation are submitted inside the three months that follow.
Sources
Articles 4 and 4A of the Paris Convention (text on WIPO Lex); Article 25 of the PRC Trademark Law and Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations; CNIPA and its fee schedule; EUIPO certified copies. General information, not legal advice, and outcomes rest with CNIPA.
Send us the receipt and we will do the check
Forward the filing receipt for your earlier application. We will confirm whether the window still has room, whether yours is the filing that counts, and how many documents the claim needs, at no charge. The background on what priority does and does not do is in our priority claim guide. When you are ready, the filings run through our China trademark registration service, and a quote follows within 24 hours of your message.
