The fear is specific: you share your design, and months later an identical product appears online — sometimes sold by the factory that makes yours, sometimes to your own customers. The risk is real but manageable. Most effective protection is not a single document; it is a combination of registration, enforceable contracts and controlled disclosure.
This article is general information, not legal advice. IP law and procedures change; work with a lawyer experienced in China for your specific case.
Understand the three real risks
- Copying — the supplier or someone they share files with makes and sells the same product.
- Circumvention — the supplier contacts your customers or distributors directly.
- Registration squatting — someone registers your brand or design in China first, which can complicate or even block your own production and exports.
1. Register in China — early
China operates a first-to-file system for trademarks: rights generally go to whoever registers first, not whoever used the mark first. Registration in your home country or the EU does not by itself protect you in China.
- Register your trademark in China in the relevant classes — consider the Chinese-character version of your brand as well.
- Consider design patents (and utility models for technical features) in China for products where appearance or mechanism is the value. These must generally be filed before public disclosure.
- After registration, consider recording your trademark with China Customs, which can help stop infringing goods at export.
2. Use an NNN agreement, not a generic NDA
A Western-style NDA governed by foreign law is often hard to enforce against a supplier in China. Many companies instead use an NNN agreement — Non-disclosure, Non-use, Non-circumvention — drafted for enforcement in China.
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Non-use | Stops the supplier from using your design for its own products — the core risk, which a plain NDA may not cover |
| Non-circumvention | Stops the supplier from selling directly to your customers or going around you |
| Chinese law and Chinese courts | Commonly recommended so a judgment can be enforced where the supplier’s assets are |
| Chinese-language version | Chinese courts work in Chinese; a bilingual contract with clear precedence avoids disputes about meaning |
| Liquidated damages | A pre-agreed amount makes enforcement practical; proving actual losses is difficult |
| Correct legal entity | Sign with the company that actually makes the product, using its registered Chinese name and company seal (chop) |
3. Control what you disclose
- Share for quoting only what is needed: often individual part drawings rather than the full assembly.
- Split critical components across different suppliers so no single factory holds the complete product.
- Keep firmware, key algorithms and final programming under your control — load firmware yourself or through a trusted party.
- Watermark drawings and track revisions and recipients.
- Avoid publishing detailed product information before design registrations are filed.
4. Own your tooling — on paper
Molds and fixtures you paid for should be yours, but in practice they sit in the supplier’s factory. Put ownership, storage, maintenance, the right to inspect and the right to move the tool into the purchase agreement. Mark tools with your name or an ID where possible.
5. Keep evidence
If you ever need to act, evidence decides the outcome: signed agreements, dated drawings, emails, purchase orders, payment records and registration certificates. Keep them organised from day one.
How we handle confidentiality
We are happy to sign an NDA before you share detailed designs, and we share drawings with manufacturing partners only as needed for their specific parts. Discuss your requirements when you send your request, and read about our OEM / ODM approach.