Bad faith trademark registration in Mainland China after attending trade fairs in Hong Kong

To explore the market and promote their brand, the SME attended Cosmoprof Asia in Hong Kong in November 2023. Cosmoprof Asia is the leading international trade fair for beauty products in Aisa, attracting thousands of international companies and visitors each year. During the fair, the SME gathered market information and decided to protect their trademark in the target market to facilitate market entry. A few days after the trade fair, they applied for an international trademark via the Madrid system filing route and designated China as the country where protection was sought. Six months later they received a notice of office action from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), informing the SME about a similar mark on similar goods having been registered by a Chinese company.