Under Article 18 of the Trademark Law, foreign individuals and foreign companies applying to register a trademark or handling other trademark matters in China must act through a trademark agency lawfully established in China. The requirement is mandatory; neither the applicant's size nor the number of filings creates an exception.
Foreign applicants do not need to establish an entity in China, nor maintain a place of business there. The documents typically required include: proof of the applicant's legal status (a copy of the certificate of incorporation, business license, or certificate of good standing, with a Chinese translation if in a foreign language), a clear representation of the mark, a list of designated goods or services, and a signed power of attorney (a scanned signature copy is sufficient for mainland China filings — no original, notarization, or legalization is required).
Applications designating China through the Madrid System follow a different filing route, but subsequent proceedings — responses to office actions, oppositions and reviews of refusal — still require a Chinese agency.
