Chinese Brand Name Development

Why a Chinese name?

1. Protect your brand name in China

A U.S. trademark does not protect you in China. We work with your team to create the best Chinese name so you can start the process of protecting your intellectual property rights (IPR) in China.

As the U.S. Commercial Service and the Department of Commerce advise, if you are seeking to distribute your products in China, it is essential that you register appropriate Chinese language versions of your trademark(s) well in advance. Failing to act can have devastating consequences for future business and translate to expensive problems.

Protection

China has a first-to-file system that requires no evidence of prior use or ownership, leaving registration of popular foreign marks open to third parties.

Foreign companies should register appropriate Internet domain names and Chinese language versions of their trademarks.

Source: U.S. Commercial Service

Prevention

Develop and register a Chinese language version, and do so throughout the other jurisdictions of Greater China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and Singapore.

If you do not create a Chinese mark, the market will do so, creating a Chinese "nickname" for your product. Your company may not like the image this mark projects, or someone else in China may like it so much they register it in their own name, forcing you to buy it back.

Source: U.S. Embassy Beijing

2. Serve one billion customers

The Chinese-speaking world is quickly becoming the world's biggest consumer market. Even in the U.S., Chinese is the third most frequently spoken language. To rise above the global competition, it is crucial that you have a brand that is not only free from profane or negative associations in various Chinese languages (at a bare minimum), but one that also speaks to the hearts of Chinese ("differentiate or be lost in the crowd").