Foreign Exhibitors at the 140th Canton Fair: the Exhibition Certificate for a Chinese Patent Grace Period or Trademark Priority, a Chinese-Only Form, and Sealed Translations

Checked on 8 October 2026. We are an interpreting and translation company in Guangzhou (Guangzhou Guanri Translation Service Co., Ltd.). We are not a patent or trademark agency, not a law firm, and not the Canton Fair organiser. The service this article points to — a sealed Chinese translation of your documents — is one we sell. This is not legal advice. Every rule and number below comes from the organiser's own documents, from China's patent law and its implementing regulations, or from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the tax and deposit terms in §9 come from our FAQ. None comes from our data.

The 140th Canton Fair runs in three phases: 15–19 October, 23–27 October and 31 October – 4 November 2026. If you exhibit a product for the first time and you plan to apply for a Chinese patent on it, or you use a trademark for the first time on goods you exhibit, you can apply to the organiser for an exhibition certificate (展出证明); it is issued if the organiser's paper review and booth inspection confirm the display. China's patent law gives a six-month grace period for an invention first shown at an international exhibition that the Chinese government hosts or recognises. The organiser says its certificate helps you prove that kind of display, and helps with trademark priority in the same way. For a foreign company the organiser's guide adds three requirements that take time: an appointed agency, identity and authorisation documents notarized and legalized at home (or through the treaty route), and a Chinese translation of every foreign-language document, sealed by a translation agency. This article sets out those requirements in the organiser's own words, and points out where the text stops.

1. Which line is yours

If this is you	What holds today	Then do this	Who decides
You will show a product for the first time and plan a Chinese patent application	The certificate can be applied for during the offline Fair and within six months after it closes. Photos of the product on your booth, and an inspection of the booth by two or more station staff, are part of it (§5)	Decide before your phase opens. The patent application must be filed within six months of the display, not of the close, and the organiser itself advises filing as soon as possible (§2, §6). Settle the Chinese product name with whoever drafts your Chinese patent request (§4)	The organiser issues the certificate; CNIPA decides the grace period (§2)
You will use a trademark for the first time on goods you show	The organiser's Q&A says trademark priority runs six months from the display, and the priority proof goes in at filing or within three months (§6)	Have your trademark agent confirm the current filing rule, and photograph the full booth view while it stands (§5)	The organiser issues the certificate; China's trademark office decides priority
Your company is foreign	The guide says a foreign company must appoint an agency, and its identity and authorisation documents must be notarized at home and legalized, or go through the treaty route. All materials need a Chinese version; foreign-language documents need a Chinese translation sealed by a qualified translation agency. The form must be filled in Chinese with a valid mainland China contact (§3, §4)	Appoint the agency now and start the home-country formalities before you fly. Ask tsz@cantonfair.org.cn what you submit in place of a Chinese business licence (§3)	The organiser
Your product is on someone else's booth, for example your distributor's	The guide names two kinds of applicant: the company on the booth fascia, and a registered joint-operation company (§5)	Ask tsz@cantonfair.org.cn in writing before the phase whether you can apply	The organiser
Your patent is already granted, or your trademark already registered	The organiser's Q&A says you generally do not need the certificate (§2)	Ask your agent whether anything still turns on the display date	Your agent; the organiser for the certificate
You filed in China before your phase, and the right is not yet granted or registered	The Q&A covers only rights already granted or registered (§2)	Ask your agent whether you need the certificate at all	Your agent
You have shown or published the product somewhere else already	The form has you promise that the display at the Canton Fair is the first one (§8)	Talk to your patent agent before you apply	CNIPA; and this is a legal question we do not answer
You will apply after the Fair, by mail	Allowed within six months after closing, but the materials must be notarized or otherwise able to prove when they were made, for example notarization of when the photos were taken (§5)	Arrange that proof during your phase, while the booth still stands	The organiser
You want to rely on the certificate outside China	The guide and the Q&A speak only of applications in China	Ask your patent or trademark attorney in that country	That country's office
Your company is in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan	The guide sends you to the provisions of the Ministry of Justice and other departments, not to the route in §3	Ask your notary which procedure applies, and confirm with tsz@cantonfair.org.cn	The organiser

2. What the certificate is, and what it is not

The organiser's Q&A defines the certificate. For patents, it is a document issued by the organiser or organising committee of an international exhibition hosted or recognised by the Chinese government, stating the exhibition's dates, place and name, and the date, form and content of the display, under official seal. For trademarks, it proves that the mark was first used on goods shown at that exhibition.

The legal hook is Article 24 of China's Patent Law. The opening of the article and the item that matters here (our working translation follows):

申请专利的发明创造在申请日以前六个月内，有下列情形之一的，不丧失新颖性：……（二）在中国政府主办或者承认的国际展览会上首次展出的；

Our working translation: "An invention-creation for which a patent is applied for does not lose novelty if, within six months before the filing date, any of the following occurs: … (2) it is first exhibited at an international exhibition hosted or recognised by the Chinese government;". The ellipsis stands for item (1).

Rule 33, first paragraph, of the Implementing Regulations (2023 revision) then defines "recognised" narrowly (one sentence):

专利法第二十四条第（二）项所称中国政府承认的国际展览会，是指国际展览会公约规定的在国际展览局注册或者由其认可的国际展览会。

Our working translation: "An international exhibition recognised by the Chinese government, as referred to in Article 24(2) of the Patent Law, means an international exhibition registered with or recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions under the Convention relating to International Exhibitions." The organiser's own certificate template describes the Fair as co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government. Whether that makes it an exhibition "hosted" by the Chinese government for Article 24 is for CNIPA to decide, not for us.

The organiser says the same about its own certificate. Note 3 on the application form, quoted in full (three sentences):

《展出证明》仅用于证明申请企业在广交会展出相关展品、商标事实使用，不代表能获得国家知识产权局对宽限期或优先权的认可。经认可的《展出证明》可能带来的宽限期，仅保证申请企业自身的申请不因技术公开而丧失新颖性，不代表最终能申请相关专利。为确实保障权利，建议申请企业尽快申请专利。

Our working translation: "The Exhibition Certificate only proves that the applicant exhibited the product, or actually used the trademark, at the Canton Fair; it does not mean CNIPA will recognise a grace period or priority. The grace period that a recognised certificate may bring only ensures that the applicant's own application does not lose novelty because of the disclosure; it does not mean the related patent can in the end be obtained. To protect your rights, the applicant is advised to apply for the patent as soon as possible."

The Q&A adds two limits. The grace period does not beat someone who made the same invention independently and filed before you. And if your patent is already granted or your trademark already registered, you generally do not need the certificate.

3. The rule for foreign companies, in the organiser's own words

The organiser's Guide for Canton Fair Exhibitors Applying for the Exhibition Certificate (Trial) has one item on foreign applicants, item 4.6. The organiser's page that links the guide has no English version that we could find. Quoted in full (three sentences):

申请企业为外国企业的，应当依法委托代理机构办理，并提交经其所在国相关政府机构公证，并经我国驻该国使领馆认证，或者履行我国与该国订立有关条约中规定证明手续的身份证明文件及委托证明文件；申请企业为香港、澳门、台湾地区企业的，相关证明文件应按司法部等部门有关规定办理。所有文件资料应当提供中文版本；外文文件应当同时提供具有相关翻译资质的翻译机构加盖公章的中文译本。申请企业应保证中文译文的准确性。

Our working translation: "A foreign applicant shall, in accordance with law, entrust an agency to handle the application, and submit identity documents and authorisation documents notarized by the relevant government authority of its country and authenticated by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country, or having gone through the certification formalities prescribed in a relevant treaty between China and that country; for applicants from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, the relevant documents shall be handled under the provisions of the Ministry of Justice and other departments. All documents and materials shall be provided in a Chinese version; foreign-language documents shall be accompanied by a Chinese translation bearing the official seal of a translation agency with the relevant translation qualifications. The applicant shall guarantee the accuracy of the Chinese translation."

Three things in it. First, the agency. The guide does not say what kind of agency, only "in accordance with law". For a later patent application the law is explicit. Article 18 of the Patent Law, first paragraph (one sentence):

在中国没有经常居所或者营业所的外国人、外国企业或者外国其他组织在中国申请专利和办理其他专利事务的，应当委托依法设立的专利代理机构办理。

Our working translation: "A foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organisation without a habitual residence or business office in China that applies for a patent or handles other patent matters in China shall entrust a lawfully established patent agency." Whether the certificate application counts as one of those "other patent matters" the guide does not say; ask your agency.

Second, the notarization and legalization attach to two kinds of document: identity documents and authorisation documents. Item 4.2 of the same guide asks every applicant for a copy of its business licence with the company seal, a copy of the legal representative's ID card, and the original certificate of the legal representative. Those are Chinese-style documents. The form does have fields for country and for an enterprise registration number, but what a foreign company submits in place of item 4.2, the guide does not spell out. Ask tsz@cantonfair.org.cn before you start.

Third, item 4.6 does not name the apostille. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Apostille Convention took effect for China on 7 November 2023, and that a public document from another contracting state used in mainland China then needs only that state's apostille. Whether an apostille satisfies the "treaty" clause of item 4.6 for your country and each of your documents, the guide does not say. That is the organiser's decision. Ask in writing.

4. The translation: what the guide asks for, and what it leaves open

There are two layers. The form itself is Chinese-only. Note 1 on the application form, quoted in full (one sentence):

所有内容应以中文填写并提供中国大陆地区有效联系信息。

Our working translation: "All content shall be filled in in Chinese, with valid contact information in mainland China." The exhibit description that goes with the form asks for the product name, the materials released to the public at the Fair, a short description of the technology that may have been disclosed, and photos; for a design patent, the product name and colour photos. It adds that the product name must match the request of the later patent application. If you write the form in Chinese before your patent agent has settled the Chinese name for the request, the two can diverge. Agree the Chinese name with the agent first.

The second layer is item 4.6: every foreign-language document needs a Chinese translation sealed by a translation agency. That covers the legalized identity and authorisation documents. On our reading it also covers any foreign-language brochure or leaflet you attach as "materials released to the public at the Fair", because the sentence speaks of foreign-language documents without limit. If that matters to you, confirm it with tsz@cantonfair.org.cn.

What the rule does not say. It does not define "the relevant translation qualifications". It does not say the translation agency must be in China. It does not ask for the translator's signature. Compare the organiser's IP complaint procedures, which do ask for the translator's signature and the agency's official seal; we covered those in a separate article. It does not say whether the notarial certificate, or the apostille or legalization page, must be translated too. And the last sentence puts the accuracy of the translation on you, the applicant, not on the organiser. We are not going to fill those gaps. If you want certainty, send the organiser the list of what you plan to submit and ask, in writing, before you translate.

A suggestion on order, which is ours and not the organiser's: translate the documents in the form you will submit, after notarization and the apostille or legalization, not before, unless your notary is to certify the translation itself or time does not allow. Then the translation matches the pages the station sees.

We are a translation company, and this is a service we sell. Our FAQ says that for documents that need an apostille or consular legalization we translate with the translation company's official seal, and that we are a registered translation company with a valid business licence. Whether that meets "the relevant translation qualifications" is the organiser's decision. When you write to us, say that the use is a Canton Fair exhibition certificate and quote item 4.6, and we will confirm what will be on your translation before we start. We do not prepare the Chinese form or the exhibit description, we do not choose the Chinese name for your patent request, and we do not act as your agency.

5. What can only be done while your booth stands

Who can apply. Item 6.3 of the guide defines an exhibitor as a company formally registered to use a booth, with a Canton Fair code — "the company listed on the booth fascia". It also covers a joint-operation company: a non-trading company that operates jointly with, or supplies, a trading company exhibiting at the Fair, and is formally registered with the Fair. Nothing else is named.

The photos. For a patent, the photos must show the whole product and the product on your booth, with the booth fascia and the yellow exhibitor certificate on the booth visible (item 4.1.1). For a trademark, the photos must show the full view of the display where the goods first carry the mark — booth, display board and the yellow certificate — with the mark complete and clear (item 4.1.2). Those can only be taken while your booth is up, in your phase.

The inspection. During the Fair, the station first reviews the papers. If they pass, at least two station staff inspect the booth and fill in an inspection record; if the inspection confirms the display, the station gives you an acceptance receipt, and otherwise the materials are returned (item 5.2). So the product has to still be on the booth when they come.

The display date. It must fall within the offline dates of the phase you exhibit in (item 6.1).

Applying later. If you apply after the Fair by mail, you must submit materials that are notarized, or that can prove in some other way when they were produced; the guide's example is notarization of when the photos were taken (item 4.1.3). The guide does not say how to arrange that. Ask your agency while the booth still stands.

If your booth staff will need an interpreter while the station is at your booth, that interpreter needs an exhibitor-side badge, not a buyer-side one. The rules are in our exhibitor badge article.

6. The calendar

Step	Time limit	Source
Display date	Within the offline dates of your phase: 15–19 October, 23–27 October or 31 October – 4 November	Guide item 6.1
Apply in the halls	During the offline Fair, at the station point for your area	Guide items 2 and 3
Apply by mail	Within six months after the Fair closes	Guide item 2
Missing originals after an on-site application	Completed within 15 natural days of the acceptance receipt	Guide item 4.5
Certificate after an on-site application	Within 30 natural days of the acceptance receipt, or of the complete materials if the application was accepted with documents missing	Guide item 5.2
Certificate after a mailed application	Paper review within 15 natural days of receipt; certificate within 30 natural days of receipt if the materials prove the display date, otherwise returned	Guide item 5.3
Patent application in China	Within six months of the first display, if the grace period applies (§2)	Patent Law Article 24
Grace period proof to CNIPA	Declare it when you file; submit the proof within 2 months of the filing date	Implementing Regulations Rule 33
Trademark priority period	Six months from the date the goods are first shown	Organiser's Q&A
Trademark priority proof	At filing, or within three months of the filing date, as the organiser's Q&A states it	Organiser's Q&A

Two of those clocks run against each other. CNIPA's two months start on your patent filing date. The organiser's thirty natural days start on its acceptance receipt, or later if documents were missing. Give your patent agent both dates. Rule 33 also says that if the declaration is not made at filing, or the proof is not submitted in time, Article 24 does not apply to the application. And the two six-month periods are not the same: the grace period runs from the display, while the window to apply for the certificate runs from the close of the Fair.

The Q&A gives the trademark rule as it cites 《商标审查审理指南2011》 (one sentence):

根据《商标审查审理指南2011》，申请人依据商标法第二十六条要求“基于展会的优先权”的，应当在申请时提交优先权证明文件；申请时不能提交的，应当在申请日起三个月内补充提交。

Our working translation: "According to the Trademark Examination and Review Guidelines 2011, an applicant claiming 'exhibition-based priority' under Article 26 of the Trademark Law shall submit the priority proof at the time of filing; if it cannot be submitted then, it shall be supplemented within three months of the filing date." We have not checked that citation against the current trademark examination rules. Your trademark agent should.

7. Where to apply, and whom to ask

During the offline Fair, the guide sends you to the station point for the area your booth is in (item 3). It lists these points and lines. The organiser says it has offered certificates since the 136th session; the guide is marked as a trial version, and the page that carries it is dated 16 September 2026:

Area A: negotiation rooms 1 and 2, on the east and west sides of the central hall between Halls 6 and 8. Patents 020-89120886; trademarks and copyright 020-89120987.
Area B: meeting rooms 17–20, basement level 1, general area of the administrative office centre. Patents 020-89120988; trademarks and copyright 020-89120993.
Area C: counters 14.4-1 and 14.4-2. Patents 020-89075918; trademarks and copyright 020-89075794.
Area D: rooms G2J37–40 on the M2 mezzanine of the Pearl River Promenade, by Hall 20. Patents 020-89078012; trademarks and copyright 020-89077004.
By mail, outside the Fair: Room 1806, No. 669 Fengpu Middle Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou; phone 020-89138313. The 2025 exhibitor manual's copy of the guide gives 020-89138312 here; the organiser's 140th-session IP complaint FAQ gives (008620)89138313 as its enquiry line outside the Fair. If in doubt, write to tsz@cantonfair.org.cn.

The organiser's 140th-session IP guide confirms complaint station points in Areas A, B, C and D for this session, but it does not repeat the rooms or these lines. From abroad, dial +86 20 and drop the leading 0.

One loose end. The organiser's page for the certificate gives the complaint system, complain.cantonfair.org.cn, as the application channel. The guide says the materials must be on paper and that electronic applications are not accepted (item 4.5). We are not going to pick one for you. The page's enquiry address is tsz@cantonfair.org.cn; ask there which applies to you.

8. If it has already gone wrong

Your identity or authorisation documents were not legalized before you came. On site, the station can accept an application with originals missing if you promise to complete them within 15 natural days of the receipt (item 4.5). Whether that covers documents not yet legalized is for the station to decide; ask tsz@cantonfair.org.cn before you travel. Whether legalization from your country fits in 15 days is for your notary to answer. If it does not, the mail route stays open for six months after the Fair, but its materials must prove when they were produced (§5).
Your translation has no agency seal. Get one that has it. We can do it. Send us the pages and your deadline, and we will tell you whether we can meet it — that answer is per job, and we will not guess it in an article.
The booth is already dismantled and you have no photos. Item 4.1.3 asks for materials that can prove when they were produced. Whether anything you have qualifies is the organiser's decision; ask tsz@cantonfair.org.cn.
The station returned your materials. Item 5.2 says materials are returned when the inspection does not confirm the display; the guide gives no appeal route. Ask the station why, in writing.
Your product was shown or published before the Fair. The form has you promise the Canton Fair display is the first one. What that means for your patent is a question for your patent agent; we do not give legal advice.
CNIPA did not accept the grace period. That is a patent prosecution question. Instruct a patent agent or lawyer.

9. What we sell, and what we do not

Sealed Chinese translation of the documents in §3 and §4. Tell us the use, the deadline, and that item 4.6 asks for a translation agency's official seal. Each job is quoted separately. Our quotes exclude tax: a special VAT invoice adds 6% and a general invoice adds 3%, and new clients usually pay a 30–50% deposit, as our FAQ says.

Interpreters for your booth staff, if they need one while the station inspects or while you deal with the station. Our Guangzhou interpreters are listed in the interpreter directory; the badge rules for exhibitor-side interpreters are in the article linked in §5.

What we do not do. We do not file patent or trademark applications, we do not act as the agency item 4.6 asks for, we do not obtain notarization, apostilles or legalization abroad, and we do not tell you whether your invention or mark qualifies. We do not give legal advice. If you need it, instruct a patent or trademark agency, or a lawyer.

To reach us: WhatsApp +86 139 2416 6640, or WeChat (ID Saralee93), or our contact page. If it is about a translation, say so in the first line and give the deadline.

For the wider difference between certified and notarized translation, see our explainer; for apostille versus three-step legalization, see this one.

10. Sources and dates

《展出证明》办理 (exhibition certificate), the organiser's page published 16 September 2026, with the enquiry address and the application channel: Canton Fair website. We found no official English version of this page.
广交会参展企业申请办理《展出证明》指引（试行） (the guide), linked from that page: PDF. We compared it with Annex 13 of the organiser's 2025 exhibitor manual: the text is the same except the mail-route phone number (020-89138313 in the guide, 020-89138312 in the manual).
中国进出口商品交易会展出证明申请表 (application form, with notes 1 and 3 and the exhibit description), linked from the same page: Word file. The certificate template is in the 2025 exhibitor manual annex.
广交会《展出证明》办理问答 (Q&A), linked from the same page: PDF.
第140届广交会知识产权和贸易纠纷投诉处理指引 (140th-session IP guide), 16 September 2026: Canton Fair website.
Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (2020 amendment), Articles 18 and 24: CNIPA.
Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law (2023 revision), Rule 33: CNIPA.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 《取消外国公文书认证要求的公约》将于2023年11月7日在中国生效实施: mfa.gov.cn.
Our FAQ, read on 8 October 2026: translationchina.com/m/en/faq/.

All pages were retrieved on 8 October 2026. "We found no official English version" means we asked the site's own content interface for the same id with an EN suffix and got nothing back. Rules can change during a session. Check the organiser's own pages before you rely on any of this.