IP Protection Strategies for Indian Companies Entering China

Indian companies are looking at China more seriously than at any point in recent years, whether as a sales market, a manufacturing base, a sourcing hub or a place to set up R&D. The commercial case is usually well worked out. The IP case often is not. Brand names are registered in India, patents are filed in India, and the team assumes that protection will “extend” to China in some form. It does not.

This guide sets out how IP protection actually works for an Indian business entering China, what has changed in the last eighteen months, where Indian companies tend to go wrong, and a sequenced plan you can hand to your legal, commercial and operations teams.

Key takeaways

• China is first-to-file for trademarks. Your Indian registration, reputation or Madrid filing does not protect you unless it is converted into a Chinese right in time.
• The trademark law has just been overhauled. The revised Trademark Law was adopted on 26 June 2026 and takes effect on 1 January 2027. It strengthens action against bad-faith filing and confirms that online use counts as trademark use. Filings made now should be built with the new rules in mind.
• Trade secrets are now your most underused asset. The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (in force since 15 October 2025) raised penalties, reaches individuals and covers some conduct outside China.
• Patent claims are read in Chinese. The Chinese translation, not your Indian specification, defines your rights in China. Translation quality is a legal issue, not an administrative one.
• Your contract structure matters as much as your registrations. Distributors, contract manufacturers and joint-venture partners are the most common source of IP leakage and trademark hijacking.
• Plan for enforcement before you need it. Choice of governing law, forum, evidence practice and customs recordal should be settled at the start.

Why IP has to be sorted out before you enter

Three features of the Chinese system drive almost every risk an Indian entrant faces.

First-to-file, not first-to-use. For trademarks, the person who files first in China generally owns the right, even if your brand is famous in India. The register is also enormous: the Chinese mainland had more than 49.8 million valid registered trademarks at the end of 2025, according to figures reported by Xinhua and CNIPA. A clean, available Chinese version of your brand is therefore harder to find than most founders expect.

Territorial rights. Indian patents, designs and copyright registrations have no effect in China. Patents and designs must be separately filed, and the novelty requirement is absolute: if you publish, exhibit or sell your product before filing, you may lose the right to patent it in China at all.

A language and enforcement gap. Proceedings are in Chinese, evidence rules are specific, and judgments of Indian courts are unlikely to be enforceable in China. Your enforcement strategy has to be designed for Chinese forums from the beginning.

What has changed: the legal updates Indian businesses should know

Most online guidance on this topic predates the following changes.

Development	Status	Why it matters to an Indian entrant
Revised Trademark Law (87 articles, up from 73)	Adopted 26 June 2026; effective 1 January 2027	Stronger tools against bad-faith filings, with fines of up to RMB 100,000 reported for specified conduct; express recognition of use via the internet; a new mechanism for confirming well-known status for use in foreign proceedings; a narrower route to challenge “abusive” litigation.
Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law	In force since 15 October 2025	Higher fines for serious trade secret violations (the minimum raised to RMB 1 million), direct liability for individuals such as former employees and consultants, clearer rules against using another’s mark in a trade name, and reach over certain acts committed abroad.
Criminal IP interpretation (SPC and SPP)	Effective 26 April 2025	Updated standards for criminal liability in IP infringement cases, relevant for serious counterfeiting and trade secret theft.
Patent Law (2020 amendments)	In force since 1 June 2021	Punitive damages up to five times the base amount, higher statutory damages, partial-design protection, patent term compensation, and a patent linkage system for pharmaceuticals.
Apostille Convention	China party since 7 November 2023	Indian public documents (for example, certificates of incorporation) can generally be apostilled instead of going through consular legalisation, which shortens evidence and filing preparation.

Reading the 2026 Trademark Law correctly. Commentators note that the final text contains few surprises compared with the December 2025 draft, and that some of the more ambitious earlier proposals were dropped. The direction of travel is clear, though: the system is moving away from rewarding the person who simply files first and towards rewarding genuine use. Implementing regulations are expected before the effective date, so check for them before finalising your filing programme.

Trademarks: the first thing to do and the thing most often done wrong

File before you announce

Apply in China before press releases, trade show appearances, distributor conversations or e-commerce listings. Many hijacked marks are filed within weeks of a public announcement, by a counterparty who has been told about your plans.

Build your Chinese brand identity deliberately

Chinese consumers will use a Chinese-character name for your brand whether or not you give them one. If you do not choose it, a distributor, a platform or the public will. Consider three routes and register the ones you intend to use:

1. Phonetic transliteration that sounds like your brand in Mandarin.
2. Meaning-based translation that conveys the brand’s value.
3. A hybrid that does both.

Have the options checked by a native speaker for unintended meanings, regional pronunciation differences (Mandarin versus Cantonese) and existing conflicts. Then file the Latin-script mark, the Chinese name and, where relevant, the logo as separate applications.

Get the classes and subclasses right

China applies its own Similar Goods and Services Classification, which divides each Nice class into subclasses. A registration in the correct class but the wrong subclass can leave you with no protection against a near-identical product. Map your real and planned products to subclasses, not just classes, and add defensive coverage for adjacent goods that a copyist would plausibly use.

Direct filing or Madrid?

Both India and China are Madrid Protocol members, so extending an Indian registration to China is possible. Madrid is cost-efficient for a broad portfolio, but for a market where you expect real activity, a direct national filing is often the safer primary route: it removes dependency on the Indian base registration during its first five years, gives you more control over the specification of goods in Chinese, and makes it easier to correct issues during examination. Many clients use direct filing for core marks and Madrid for secondary markets. Use the six-month Paris Convention priority window if you have filed in India first.

Defend against squatting

• Watch the register. Monitor new applications in your classes and adjacent ones; the opposition window is short (three months from preliminary publication), so a watch service pays for itself.
• Challenge bad-faith filings. Opposition, invalidation and non-use cancellation are available. Under current law, a registered mark that has not been used for three consecutive years can be cancelled on request. Keep dated evidence of genuine use of your own marks, because the same rule can be used against you.
• Use the new law. From 1 January 2027, the revised statute gives a firmer statutory footing for dealing with bad-faith filers and for agencies that knowingly take such instructions.

Record with Chinese Customs and register on platforms

Once you hold a registered Chinese trademark, record it with the General Administration of Customs so that infringing exports can be detained. If you plan to sell through Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo or similar platforms, a Chinese registration is generally the entry ticket to their brand-protection portals. Without it, takedown requests are far harder to make.

Patents, utility models and designs

Pick the right right

Right	Term	Examination	Best use for an Indian entrant
Invention patent	20 years	Substantive; typically takes years	Core technology, processes, formulations
Utility model	10 years	Preliminary only; much faster	Mechanical products and structures; quick enforceable right
Design patent	15 years	Preliminary only	Product appearance, packaging, partial designs

A common and effective approach is to file an invention patent and a utility model for the same product structure where the law allows, to obtain an early enforceable right while the invention application is examined. Take advice on the rules for such double filings before relying on them.

Entry routes and deadlines

If you have filed in India, you have 12 months from the first filing to claim priority in China under the Paris Convention. If you use the PCT route, Chinese national phase entry is due at 30 months from the priority date, with a limited extension available on payment of a surcharge. Missing these dates is not recoverable in most cases, so docket them centrally.

The translation is the patent

China examines and enforces the Chinese-language text. Scope is determined by that text, and amendments cannot add matter beyond the original disclosure. Poorly translated technical terms can narrow claims or create invalidity arguments years later. Use a translator or Chinese patent attorney who understands your technical field, and have an engineer on your side review the Chinese claims against the English.

If your R&D is in China, check the security rule first

Under the Patent Law, an invention completed in China generally has to go through a confidentiality examination before an application is filed abroad. Indian companies that set up Chinese R&D teams, or that have Chinese engineers contribute to a design, should check this before filing in India or under the PCT. Getting the sequence wrong can jeopardise validity.

Pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals

For Indian pharma and agrochemical companies, the Chinese patent linkage mechanism introduced alongside the 2020 amendments, and the regime on regulatory data, affect launch timing and litigation risk. These sectors should treat freedom-to-operate analysis in China as a standard part of entry planning rather than a later add-on.

Freedom to operate

Protecting your own IP is half the picture. Search for third-party Chinese patents and designs before you manufacture or sell. With punitive damages available for wilful infringement, being on the receiving end of a claim is now a more expensive experience than it used to be.

Trade secrets and know-how: your most flexible protection

Many Indian manufacturers and service firms hold their real advantage in process knowledge, supplier lists, pricing models and software logic, none of which suits a patent. Chinese law protects such information as a trade secret, provided you can show it is secret, has commercial value and that you took reasonable confidentiality measures. The last element is where claims usually fail.

What “reasonable measures” looks like in practice:

• Classify and mark confidential documents and restrict access on a need-to-know basis.
• Sign Chinese-law NDAs and employee confidentiality clauses in Chinese, identifying the categories of information protected.
• Control technology. Access logs, device policies, and restrictions on copying and external email, with records you can later use as evidence.
• Exit protocols. Return-of-materials checklists and exit interviews with signed acknowledgements.
• Non-competes used carefully. Chinese labour law permits post-employment non-competes for specified categories of employees, generally for up to two years, but they require compensation during the restricted period. An unpaid non-compete is difficult to enforce.
• Employee inventions. Make sure employment contracts and policies address ownership of service inventions and the reward or remuneration owed to inventors, which the Patent Law requires.

The 2025 amendments strengthen your position: individuals such as former employees and consultants can now be directly liable, fines for serious cases have been raised, and the law reaches certain acts committed abroad that affect the Chinese market. Penalties are only as useful as the evidence you hold, so build the paper trail now.

Data caution. If your know-how sits in datasets or systems that cross the Indian and Chinese networks, take separate advice on China’s data security and personal-information rules before transferring or hosting it. The IP and data compliance questions overlap more than most teams realise.

Copyright, software, trade dress and domains

• Copyright arises on creation, but in China a voluntary registration (and, for software, registration with the relevant software registry) gives you much better evidence in a dispute and is often required to use platform complaint tools.
• Packaging and trade dress can be protected through design patents, trademarks (including 3D and colour marks) and unfair competition claims. The 2025 AUCL amendments sharpen the rules on confusingly similar names and signage.
• Domain names: register a .cn domain and key variants early, and keep them in your company’s name, not a distributor’s.
• Social and platform handles: secure accounts on WeChat, Douyin and Xiaohongshu in the name of your Chinese or Indian entity, as appropriate, before launching.

Match your IP strategy to your business model

The right plan depends on how you enter. The table below summarises the main exposure points we see for Indian companies, and the minimum safeguards for each.

Entry model	Main IP exposure	Minimum safeguards
Export via a Chinese distributor	Distributor registers your mark or Chinese name; parallel imports; unauthorised sub-licensing	You register first; distribution agreement states you own all marks and names (including Chinese-language ones) and requires assignment on termination; no right to file IP in own name
Contract manufacturing in China	Leakage of designs and know-how; over-runs sold through other channels	Chinese-law, Chinese-language NNN-type agreement (non-use, non-disclosure, non-circumvention) with liquidated damages; split production across suppliers where possible; tooling and mould ownership clauses
Joint venture or technology licence	Know-how transfer beyond the licensed scope; ownership of improvements	Clear licence field and territory; ownership of improvements and grant-backs addressed; staged technology release; audit rights
Wholly foreign-owned subsidiary	Employee departures; internal leakage	Employment contracts and policies as in Section 5; IP held in the correct entity with intra-group licences
Cross-border e-commerce or D2C	Counterfeits and copycat listings; account hijacking	Chinese trademark before launch; platform brand registry; customs recordal; monitoring programme
R&D centre in China	Ownership of inventions; export-security rules for filing abroad	Assignment clauses; confidentiality examination check before foreign filing

Wherever possible, govern IP-sensitive agreements by Chinese law, in Chinese, with a Chinese court or an arbitration forum that can produce an award enforceable in China. A well-drafted Indian-law contract with an Indian forum looks protective on paper but may be difficult to use against a counterparty whose assets and operations sit in China.

Enforcement: the toolbox and how to choose

China offers several routes. They are not alternatives; strong cases often use more than one.

1. Administrative enforcement. Local market supervision authorities can investigate, raid, seize infringing goods and issue fines. It is usually quicker and cheaper than litigation, though it does not generally award you damages.
2. Civil litigation. Specialised IP courts operate in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, along with IP tribunals in other courts and in the Hainan Free Trade Port, and technical appeals go to the Supreme People’s Court’s IP tribunal. Courts have become more willing to award substantial damages, and the Patent Law now allows for punitive multiples in serious wilful cases.
3. Customs. With a recordal in place, Customs can detain suspected infringing exports and imports.
4. Platform takedowns. E-commerce and social platforms offer notice-and-takedown systems that can remove infringing listings in days.
5. Criminal referral. For counterfeiting and serious trade secret theft at scale, criminal routes are available and have been supported by the 2025 judicial interpretation.
6. Arbitration. For disputes with contractual partners, arbitration seated in a recognised centre produces an award that can be enforced under the New York Convention, to which both India and China are party. A judgment of an Indian court should not be assumed to be enforceable in China.

Evidence is the main constraint. Chinese courts expect properly preserved evidence, often through notarised purchases or web captures. Evidence created in India may need to be apostilled and translated. Decide who will collect evidence, and how, before an incident happens.

On the horizon. China has also been building rules to respond to what it regards as discriminatory foreign IP measures. This is more relevant to large cross-border disputes than to everyday enforcement, but companies with high-profile litigation in several countries should seek advice on how positions taken elsewhere may be viewed in China.

A 12-month roadmap for an Indian company

Timing	Action
Before any public announcement	Clearance search in China (marks and patents); decide on Chinese brand name; file Latin-script and Chinese-name trademark applications; secure domains and social handles; check export-security rules if any R&D is in China
Months 1–3	Complete IP audit: who owns what, and where; file priority patent or utility model applications within the 12-month window; set up a central docket for priority, PCT and response deadlines; sign Chinese-law NDAs/NNNs with every partner before sharing technical information
Months 3–6	Contracts: update distribution, manufacturing and licence agreements to the structures in Section 7; implement employee and trade-secret controls; start a trademark watch
Months 6–9	Customs recordal; platform brand registration; first copyright and software registrations; baseline evidence of genuine use
Months 9–12	Review the revised Trademark Law and its implementing rules as they take effect from 1 January 2027; fill classification gaps; review whether defensive filings or oppositions are needed; stress-test your enforcement plan with a short simulated incident

Common mistakes we see Indian companies make

1. Assuming an Indian trademark or Madrid filing is enough, and starting to ship before a Chinese filing is on record.
2. Leaving the Chinese brand name to the distributor.
3. Registering in the right class but not the right subclass.
4. Using an English-language, Indian-law contract with a Chinese manufacturer and expecting it to be enforceable in China.
5. Disclosing the product before filing a patent, losing novelty in China.
6. Relying on a translation prepared by a non-specialist for patent claims.
7. No evidence of genuine use, which exposes the mark to cancellation and weakens enforcement.
8. Treating enforcement as something to think about later.

Frequently asked questions

Does my Indian trademark protect me in China? No. Trademark rights are territorial and China follows a first-to-file system. You need a Chinese registration, either through a direct national application or through a Madrid Protocol extension.

Do I need a Chinese-character version of my brand? In practice, yes. Consumers, platforms and the trade will adopt a Chinese name for your brand. Choosing and registering it yourself prevents others from doing so.

When does the new Trademark Law take effect? The revised law was adopted on 26 June 2026 and takes effect on 1 January 2027. Applications filed now will be examined under the current law initially, but your strategy should anticipate the new rules and the accompanying regulations.

Can I file a Chinese patent after launching my product in India? Usually not safely. China applies an absolute novelty standard with limited grace periods, so a prior public disclosure or sale anywhere can destroy novelty. File first, then launch.

Can I enforce an Indian court judgment in China? You should not plan on it. For contracts with Chinese counterparties, choose Chinese law with a Chinese court, or arbitration with an award that can be enforced under the New York Convention.

What is the best protection for manufacturing know-how? Often trade secret protection, supported by documented confidentiality measures, tightly drafted contracts and employee controls, combined with patents for the elements that can be patented.

IP protection in China rewards the companies that move early, document carefully and design their contracts and forums for China rather than for India. The legal environment is, on balance, more supportive of rights holders than it was a decade ago: better damages, tougher action on bad-faith filings and stronger trade secret rules. But those tools are only available to those who have prepared the ground. With a new Trademark Law arriving on 1 January 2027, the next few months are a good time to review your Chinese portfolio.

Esplora Legal’s China and India desks advise Indian businesses on market entry, IP portfolio strategy and cross-border disputes. If you are planning a China launch, contact our team for an initial IP review.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice or create a lawyer-client relationship. Laws and implementing rules may change, and individual circumstances differ. Please obtain advice specific to your situation.

Sources and further reading

• Xinhua / CNIPA, “China Revises Trademark Law” (26 June 2026): english.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_3090_206933.html
• Chambers, “China’s Trademark Law Overhaul: Eight Changes Every Brand Owner Should Prepare For” (July 2026): chambers.com/articles/china-s-trademark-law-overhaul-eight-changes-every-brand-owner-should-prepare-for
• HLC, “China adopts revised Trademark Law: What has changed”: hlc.com/en/publications/china-adopts-revised-trademark-law-what-has-changed
• Ella Lan, news note on the revised Trademark Law (29 June 2026): ellalan.com
• China Briefing, “China’s Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law in Effect October 15”: china-briefing.com/news/china-anti-unfair-competition-law-amendments/
• CMS, “China Passed Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law” (July 2025): cms.law/en/chn/news-information/china-passed-revised-anti-unfair-competition-law
• Osha Attorneys, “China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law Amended”: obwb.com/newsletter/chinas-antiunfair-competition-law-amended-effective-october-15-2025
• China IP Law Update, SPC/SPP criminal IP interpretation (effective 26 April 2025): chinaiplawupdate.com