How to Find an Intellectual Property Agent

Filing proper intellectual property (IP) registrations before you start doing business in China is essential in order to protect your company’s intangible assets and provide the ground work in case you need to enforce your rights in China. As an EU SME, if you plan to apply for a trade mark or a patent in China, you may be able to extend your domestic registrations to China or you may need to, or prefer to, register patents directly with the National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) or trademarks with the Trade Mark Office of CNIPA. In either scenario, you may want to, or be required to, hire a local professional IP agent or lawyer to do the registration on your behalf. This guide provides some basic guidelines, tips and sources on how to find a trade mark or patent agent and what to look out for when choosing the right agent for you.

Here are two short videos explaining how to search for a trade mark agent and a patent agent from the respective Chinese official websites. For more information, download the IP Guide below.