What should be done in the 90 days before going overseas? In 2026, Attorney Shen Jinlong discusses the checklist for Shenzhen enterprises’ intellectual property layout in Europe and the United States—which is more urgent to prioritize, trademarks or patents?

Do trademarks first, then patents—this is the optimal sequence for the vast majority of Shenzhen companies in the 90 days before going global. The reasons are simple: a trademark is the ticket to entry, and platform registration, customs protection, and brand flagship stores all hinge on it; a patent is the moat, and filing a few months later usually will not cost you the market, but registering a trademark a day late may leave you blocked at the door by squatters. Within those 90 days, trademarks need to complete three tasks—search, filing, and evidence archiving—and patents should at least have a U.S. provisional application or PCT placeholder filing done; do not wait until the product is launched to remember them.

Why are trademarks more urgent than patents? Trademark squatting leaves you no buffer period.

U.S. trademarks follow the first-to-use principle, but registration can secure nationwide presumptive rights and standing to sue in federal court. The problem is that USPTO examination periods now generally take 8 to 12 months, and are further prolonged when office actions are issued. If your product has not yet launched and someone else files an application first using your brand name, you will have to go through opposition or cancellation proceedings. TTAB cases commonly drag on for two or three years, and attorneys' fees start in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The EU side is more straightforward. EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) applies the first-to-file principle: whoever files first gets the rights, regardless of whether you are the original creator. An EU trademark takes about 4 to 6 months from application to registration if all goes smoothly, but there is a 3-month opposition period. Many Chinese sellers only realize when they are opposed that they have not even compiled their evidence of use. In practice, we generally advise: once the brand name is settled, file for the EU trademark first. It costs less than a US trademark, covers 27 countries, and offers the best value for money.

Patents aren’t unimportant; it’s just that the timing is different. The USPTO’s average examination period for utility patents is more than 20 months, and design patents take about a year and a half as well. If you wait for grant before selling, the market will already have been taken by others. So the right approach with patents is to prioritize staking your position, not prioritizing grant.

How to schedule the 90 days: Days 1 to 30 for search and placeholder.

The core actions in the first 30 days are searching and filing. On the trademark side, in the United States you need to conduct a USPTO TESS search, and in the European Union you need to conduct an EUIPO eSearch, focusing on Classes 9, 25, and 35, which are high-frequency categories in cross-border e-commerce. The search is not about whether there is an identical mark, but whether there is a similar mark that would be rejected. Many clients encounter an office action for the first time because they did not search for similar trademarks.

Regarding patents, if a product has technical improvements, it is advisable to first file a U.S. provisional application (Provisional Application). It is inexpensive and gives you a 12-month priority placeholder. During those 12 months, you can take your time deciding whether to convert it into a formal application or use the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) to enter the EU and Japan. For designs, it depends on the target market. EU designs (EU Design) register quickly, usually obtaining registration within a few weeks; U.S. design patents go through the USPTO, which takes longer but provides stronger protection.

There is one more thing to do during these 30 days: archive your evidence of use. For U.S. trademark registrations, a Section 8 Declaration of Use must be filed between the 5th and 6th years after registration, and the registration must be renewed between the 9th and 10th years; without genuine evidence of use, it will be cancelled. Many sellers are doing fine until they suddenly receive a non-use cancellation notice, simply because they did not regularly keep invoices, screenshots, or advertising placement records.

Days 31–60: Submit the application; don’t obsess over perfection.

Don't wait for the final version of the logo to file a trademark application. Word marks and design marks can be filed separately; word marks have broader protection, so file the word mark first and supplement the design later. There are two bases for U.S. trademark applications: actual use (Use in Commerce) and intent to use (Intent to Use). After filing on an intent-to-use basis, once you receive a notice of allowance, you must file a statement of use; the deadline is six months, and it can be extended five times, with a fee required for each extension. If you use this time window well, it can give you a buffer of more than half a year.

EU trademarks can be filed as one mark in multiple classes, but the more classes, the higher the fees; the basic fee covers one class, and adding classes costs extra. In practice, it is advisable to cover the core classes first; do not file for all classes right away, as the budget will not support it. On the patent side, if the provisional application has already been filed, you need to start preparing the technical disclosure for the formal application within these 30 days and draft the claims solidly. In U.S. patents, claims that are too narrow are easily designed around, while claims that are too broad are easily rejected over prior art; striking this balance requires professional drafting.

Regarding fees, many clients are surprised when they ask for a quote for the first time: for a U.S. trademark, the official fees plus attorney fees for one class usually range from several thousand to 10,000 RMB; for an EU trademark, one class is about the same. Patents are much more expensive: a U.S. utility patent can cost anywhere from tens of thousands to over 100,000 RMB over the entire process. When the budget is limited, prioritize trademarks before patents, and core markets before peripheral markets.

Days 61–90: Track deadlines, set up monitoring, and don’t just pay and forget.

Filing is not the finish line. The deadline to respond to a U.S. trademark office action is 3 months; extensions are available but require a fee, usually several hundred dollars per extension. If you miss the deadline, the application is dead—you can only refile and queue up again. The EU trademark opposition period is 3 months; once an opposition is filed, the response deadline is only 2 months, extendable by 2 months. We generally advise clients to mark these deadlines firmly in their calendars—don’t count on the agency to remember them for you.

Patent deadlines are stricter. The deadline for converting a U.S. provisional application into a non-provisional application or a PCT application is 12 months and cannot be extended. The deadline for entering the national phase of a PCT is 30 months; some countries allow extension to 31 months but require an additional fee. Missing these deadlines results in loss of rights, with no remedy.

Before the 90-day period ends, it is advisable to set up a monitoring mechanism. For trademarks, engage an agency to monitor similar trademarks; if someone applies for a mark similar to yours, file an opposition within the opposition period. For patents, keep track of competitors’ filing activity and, when necessary, conduct an FTO (freedom to operate) analysis. Cross-border e-commerce sellers should also monitor platform complaints and TROs (temporary restraining orders). In U.S. courts, a TRO can go from filing to freezing accounts in as little as 14 to 21 days, leaving you very little time to respond.

Three Common Pitfalls for Shenzhen Enterprises

The first pitfall is registering only in the U.S. and not in the EU. Many sellers do not think about Europe until they have built up their U.S. marketplace, only to find that their brand has been registered by someone else at EUIPO; they then either have to pay to buy it back or switch brands and rebuild. The second pitfall is filing patents only in China and not overseas. A Chinese patent has no effect in the U.S., so if you rely on a Chinese patent to file complaints against follow sellers on the U.S. site, the platform will not recognize it. The third pitfall is failing to keep evidence of use. Both Section 8 and Section 15, the declaration of incontestability, for U.S. trademarks require evidence of use. Once Section 15 is obtained, trademark rights become more secure, but the prerequisite is that you have a continuous five-year use record.

Another easily overlooked point: copyrights. Product images, packaging designs, and Listing copy can be registered in the United States through the USCO (U.S. Copyright Office); only after registration are you eligible to sue for statutory damages. The EU has no unified copyright registration system, but individual countries have their own rules. This area is complementary to trademarks and patents—don't conflate them.

When the budget is limited, which one should be done first?

If you can choose only one, choose trademarks, and choose the core market. Two trademarks—one for the US and one for the EU—in one class, with the total budget kept within RMB 20,000, is feasible. Patents can be added later once the product is validated and has sales; the US provisional application fee to hold a place is not high, so secure priority first. If the product has high technical barriers and is easy to copy, patents should be filed earlier, but at least file the provisional application first.

Depending on your product category and target market, the pace will differ. For 3C products, the U.S. is the main battlefield, and both trademarks and patents need to be filed quickly; for apparel, EU trademarks should take priority, with design rights to follow; for home goods, U.S. design patents are important, but the application process is long, so you need to plan ahead. These judgments need to be made in light of your actual sales plan.

Lawyer Shen Jinlong of this firm, Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm's Foreign-related Intellectual Property Team focuses on U.S. and EU trademark and patent applications, oppositions, cancellations, and cross-border e-commerce intellectual property dispute resolution. Hotline: 0755-25986969. MoreUS and EU Intellectual Property PracticeYou can view the team introduction. Our intellectual property legal services in other countries cover Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Consultations can be booked for an overall overseas intellectual property layout plan. For lawyer profiles, see the Zhiming Lawyer Team.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general legal information sharing and does not constitute legal advice for specific cases. Intellectual property portfolio planning must be determined based on a comprehensive assessment of products, markets, budgets, and evidence of use. It is advisable to consult a professional lawyer before submitting an application. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm assumes no legal liability for any decisions made in reliance on the content of this article.