How to Verify a Chinese Supplier's Trademark and Patent Claims

A Chinese supplier who says a product is patented or a brand is trademarked is making a promise you may end up relying on — because if you resell the product and the claim is false, the infringement claim lands on you, not just on them. A genuine trademark or patent also adds value; a fake one is a liability. In China, both trademarks and patents are registered with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), which means both are checkable in public databases before you commit.

Verify a trademark

• Search the CNIPA trademark database (中国商标网, sbj.cnipa.gov.cn) for the mark and confirm the registrant name matches your supplier's exact legal name — not a similar name.
• Check the class. Chinese trademarks are registered by Nice Classification class, and a registration in one class gives no rights in another. A supplier's Class 25 registration for clothing does not cover Class 9 electronics.
• Check the status. A mark can be pending, registered, refused, opposed or invalidated. Only a live registration gives enforceable rights; 'applied for' is a hope, not a right.
• Watch for a registrant that is a different company or a personal name — the supplier may be quoting someone else's mark.

Verify a patent

• Check the patent number in the CNIPA database. A Chinese patent number follows the format CN followed by the year, a type digit (1 for invention, 2 for utility model, 3 for design) and a serial number — a number that does not parse this way is suspect.
• Confirm the type matches the claim. A supplier who says the product is an invention patent but the number is a utility model is inflating the protection.
• Check the legal status. Patents lapse when annuities are not paid, so a granted patent from five years ago may already be dead. The database shows whether it is still in force.
• Confirm the patentee is your supplier, and that the patented claims actually cover the product you are buying — a patent on a component is not a patent on the whole product.

Confirm the chain of title

Ownership matters as much as validity. If the trademark or patent belongs to a third party, your supplier must be a licensee, and you should see the licence agreement — including whether the licence allows your supplier to manufacture for export and whether you, as the buyer, are covered. A supplier that owns nothing and licences nothing is simply using someone else's IP, and reselling that product can make you the infringer in your own market.

Red flags in IP claims

• The certificate shows a different company name from the supplier, and there is no licence agreement.
• The mark is registered in the wrong class, or the patent is for a different product entirely.
• The supplier says 'patent pending' but cannot produce an application number you can look up.
• The number does not match the CNIPA format, or a database search returns nothing.
• The supplier refuses to share the registration number at all — a genuine holder gains from showing it.

This content is general information to help you verify a supplier's IP claims before you buy. It is not legal advice. For a specific product, brand or infringement question, consult a licensed attorney or qualified IP adviser.

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