Trademark is not only a sign that distinguishes goods or services, but also plays the functions of quality assurance, advertising, recognition, goodwill accumulation and so on. It is a huge intangible asset. The protection of trademarks is the maintenance and appreciation of intangible assets.
当今商标不仅仅是一种区别商品或服务的标志, 还发挥着质量保证、广告、表彰、商誉积累等功能, 是巨大的无形资产。对商标的保护，就是对无形资产的维持和增值。
Trademark registration is the premise for trademark to be protected by law and the legal basis for determining the exclusive right of trademark. This means that foreign trademark brands must register their trademarks in China if they want to seek trademark protection in China.
商标注册是商标得到法律保护的前提，是确定商标专用权的法律依据。这也就意味着，国外的商标品牌要想在中国寻求商标保护，必须在中国进行商标注册。
Some might argue that my brands are not famous in China, not really need the trademark protection. As long as I can make the sale, I don’t really think there is need to get registration. What about those products that are already sold in China? Without a trademark registration, what will be the consequences? What impact will it have on brand agents and overseas brand owners?
有些人可能会认为我的品牌在中国不知名，不需要商标保护，没必要注册。只要能在中国销售，我看不到注册的理由。那些已经在中国销售，但是没有进行商标注册，会有怎样的后果呢？对于海外品牌拥有者以及其国内的销售代理，会有怎样的影响呢？
According to the provisions of Articles 13 and 31 of the Trademark Law, if an application for the registration of a trademark for the same or similar goods is a reproduction, imitation or translation of a well-known trademarknot registered in China by others, which is easy to cause confusion, it shall not be registered and its application shall be prohibited, and no improper means shall be used to preempt the registration of a trademark that has been applied by others and has a certain impact.
根据商标法第十三条及第三十一条的规定，就相同或者类似商品申请注册商标是复制，模仿或者翻译他人未在华注册的驰名商标易造成混淆的，不予注册并禁止适用，且不得已不正当手段抢先注册他人已经适用并有一定影响的商标。
For a registered trademark obtained in violation of the above two circumstances, the trademark owner or interested party may request to revoke the registered trademark within five years from the date of trademark registration. For malicious registration, the owner of a well-known trademark is not subject to the five-year time limit.
对于违反以上两种情况取得的注册商标，自商标注册之日起5年内，商标所有人或者利害关系人可以请求撤销该注册商标，对恶意注册的，驰名商标所有人不受5年时间限制。
The trademark of the brand goods represented by the party concerned does not belong to a well-known trademark. If someone maliciously scrambles to register, then as an interested party, he can apply for the cancellation of the registered trademark.
而该当事人所代理的品牌商品商标不属于驰名商标，假如有人恶意抢注，那么他作为利害关系人，是可以申请撤销该注册商标的。
In addition, the trademark law also stipulates an exemption clause for the infringement liability of selling goods infringing the registered trademark right. If he does not know that the goods he sell are infringing goods, he will not bear any infringement liability if he can prove the legitimate source of the goods he sells.
此外，商标法还规定了销售侵犯注册商标权商品的侵权责任免除条款，在不明知其所销售的为侵权商品时，如果他能够证明其销售的商品合法来源，也不会承担任何侵权责任。
To sum up, if the trademark has not been registered in China so far, there will be no legal problems for its sales agents and distributors to sell in China. However, once someone else scrambles to register that particular trademark, the entrusted agents and distributors also have the right to request the cancellation of the registered trademark within a certain period of time. However, in order to better protect the interests of the trademark owner and its sales agents in China and avoid possible legal disputes in the future, it is highly recommended that the agents communicate with the foreign brand owner and register the trademark as soon as possible. Because this type of malicious registration happens, and some people do that for a living, to sell the register one to the original owner, just because they do the math constantly knowing that it would cost you more to go through all the legal process and hiring lawyers to get the trademark back. It is better to just buy from the seller.
综上，如果该商标至今未在国内注册，其代理销售目前不会存在法律问题，一旦有人抢注，也在一定时间内拥有请求撤销该注册商标的权利。但是，为了更好的保护商标所有者及其代理商的利益，也避免以后可能发生的法律纠纷，建议代理商和该国外品牌拥有者进行沟通，尽早注册该商标。因此类恶意抢注事件时常发生，也有人以此为生，只因为他们深知计算你可能需要花费在商标维权法律程序上的时间和金钱会更多，不如直接从抢注人手中购买。
In addition, because the goods are imported with original packaging, and the original packaging is marked by a registered trademark. When selling in China, adding the Chinese signs, and the sales agent should inquire whether the Chinese signs can be used. Because trademarks, like patents, are regional, even if they are registered abroad, they are not protected in China. Therefore, according to the provisions of the trademark law, it is not recommended to use logos before they are registered in China.
另，因该商品是原装进口，原包装由注册商标标识。在国内销售时，准备贴附中文标示，代理商咨询是否可以使用标识。因商标同专利一样，具有地域性，即使在国外注册，在国内也不受保护，因此，根据商标法的规定，在国内没有注册之前，不建议使用标识。
To sum up, you can see the law is still protecting the right over malicious registration, yet the paperwork and legal process can be long and expensive. To avoid future dispute, and protect the right of your sales agent and distributors, as well as to demonstrate faith and long tern development plan in the market, getting the trademark registration can be a fundamental step to persuade future business partners.
总而言之，你能看到法律在恶意抢注时是保护商标的实际持有者的，但是文书和法务流程会很长且很贵。为了避免未来的纷争，并保护你的权益以及你的销售代理和经销商的权益，同时彰显你对市场的信息以及长期发展计划，商标注册可以成为说服未来商业合作伙伴的重要一步。