A trademark in China is only as strong as the classes it covers. Foreign brands frequently file correctly and on time, yet still lose protection for core products because they registered in the wrong Nice classes, skipped a related class, or assumed their home-country filing would map neatly onto China’s system. Choosing the right classes is not an administrative detail — it is the single most important strategic decision in a China trademark filing.
This guide explains how China’s trademark classes work in 2026, how to identify the classes your brand genuinely needs, the mistakes that cost foreign companies the most, and how to work with a professional to lock in complete protection before a squatter or competitor fills the gap.
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How China’s Trademark Classes Work
China follows the Nice Classification, the international system that divides all goods and services into 45 classes — 34 for goods and 11 for services. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) applies this system but layers on its own subclasses and a set of Chinese-language goods and services descriptions, which can differ in nuance from what a brand filed at home.
The practical consequence is that a US or EU filing does not automatically translate to the same scope in China. A mark registered for “clothing” in one jurisdiction may need to be specified across several related subclasses in China to cover the same commercial reality. Because China operates on a first-to-file basis, whatever you leave uncovered is free for someone else to register.
How to Identify the Classes You Need
Start from your actual goods and services, not from a guess. For each product you sell — and each service you provide — write down the precise description, then match it to the correct class and subclass. A manufacturing company might need classes for its finished products, its raw materials, its packaging and its export services. A software company often needs Class 9 for software, Class 42 for software development, and Class 35 for retail or advertising.
Think beyond today’s products. If you plan to launch a companion product, a licensed merchandise line, or a branded service in the next few years, consider filing those classes now. Filing an additional class at the outset costs far less than trying to recover a squatted mark later, and China’s first-to-file system rewards the brand that files broadly early.
Why Class 35 Matters
Class 35 is the class foreign brands most often misunderstand. It covers retail services, advertising, business management, and the operation of online and offline stores. A common pattern is a brand that manufactures a product but sells it directly to consumers through its own shop or e-commerce store — and files only for the product class, leaving the retail activity unprotected.
Because Class 35 frequently comes up in disputes and squatter filings, many experienced advisers recommend that consumer-facing brands include it alongside their core product classes. Whether it is right for your brand depends on how you actually sell, which is exactly the kind of question a professional classification review is designed to answer.
Common Classification Mistakes
Several errors recur in filings by foreign companies, and most are avoidable:
- Filing too narrowly. Registering only the headline product and ignoring related goods, components or packaging that carry the brand.
- Assuming home-country scope transfers. Using a foreign specification that does not map to China’s subclasses and leaves gaps.
- Skipping Class 35 for a brand that sells directly to consumers.
- Choosing vague or overly broad descriptions that CNIPA rejects or that invite opposition.
- Ignoring transliteration. Registering only the English or logo mark and leaving the Chinese-language version — the one Chinese consumers actually use — unclaimed.
Each of these gaps is an opening for a squatter, who can register the uncovered class or the Chinese name and then demand a premium to transfer it back. The cost of closing the gap after the fact is typically many times the cost of filing correctly the first time.
Multi-Class vs. Single-Class Filing
China permits a single application to cover multiple classes, which is convenient and common, but each class is still examined and charged separately. There is no meaningful discount for multi-class filing; the benefit is administrative simplicity. The more important decision is not the filing format but the class list itself — getting the right classes into the application, whether in one filing or several.
Within each class, the specific goods and services you designate also matter. CNIPA’s subclasses mean two filings in the same class can protect different things. A professional who understands these subclasses will draft a specification that is broad enough to protect your business without being so vague that it gets rejected or successfully opposed.
What Class Selection Costs
Official fees in China are modest and charged per class, with additional costs for each class beyond the first in a multi-class application. The larger cost variable is usually professional fees for classification analysis, search and drafting — money well spent, because it is the analysis that determines whether your filing actually protects you.
For a foreign brand entering Guangdong — whether in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan or Dongguan — the filing is handled centrally through CNIPA, but local advice still adds value: a firm that understands both your home-country filing and China’s subclass system can reconcile the two and close the gaps your foreign registration left behind.
How Dan Young Can Help
Dan Young Business Consultancy has filed more than 2,500 trademarks in China and supports foreign companies across company registration, IP, legal and tax matters. We review your existing filings, map your goods and services to the correct Nice classes and Chinese subclasses, and draft an application that protects your brand where it actually trades — in English and in the Chinese-language version your customers know you by.
Before you file, let us run a classification and search review. A short conversation now is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy against a squatter holding your brand to ransom later.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Trademark classification, official fees and examination practice in China change over time and vary by specific goods, services and filing circumstances. You should consult a qualified IP professional such as Dan Young Business Consultancy before filing or relying on any information contained here.
