The risk, documented

How trademark squatting actually hurts

This isn't theoretical. Amazon sellers and brand owners have documented this pattern on Reddit since 2019 — it still happens in 2026.

Your name gets filed

A squatter — often a competitor or someone inside your supply chain — files your brand name with China's registry before you do.

Customs gets involved

Once approved, they file with Chinese customs and can stop any shipment carrying "their" trademark from leaving China.

The ransom

Buying the trademark back reportedly costs $10,000–$30,000 in 2026, as documented by sellers — or years of litigation. Sellers describe it as money down the drain that a few hundred dollars of prevention would have avoided.

$10k–30k

reported buy-back demands in 2026, per seller forums

2019–2026

eight years of documented cases on r/FulfillmentByAmazon

~$500

typical preventive filing — vs. 20× that to recover a name

"China's trademark process is 'first to file' and not 'first to use' like the USA… Once the trademark is approved in China they can pay to file with Chinese customs to stop any shipment leaving the country." — r/FulfillmentByAmazon, 2019 thread ↗

Find out where you stand

72 hours from now, you'll either have peace of mind — or a head start on the problem.

Check my brand — $149