Businesses in Shanghai can save time and money as they can now apply to register a trademark in the city after its first trademark registration window started operation in Xuhui District yesterday.

“It will significantly improve the efficiency of trademark application and save time and cost for businesses that want to register trademarks in Shanghai,” said Lin Haihan, director of the trademark department at the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The window, approved by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China, is located on the first floor of the Xuhui District Administrative Service Center at 969 Nanning Road.

The window will check whether the trademark being applied for has been registered or is similar to existing trademarks. It will report the application materials to the state administration’s trademark office, which will review the application and decide whether to give the approval.

The review will take nine months.

In the past, businesses in Shanghai had to visit the Beijing office for the trademark application process.

Shanghai’s registered trademarks surpassed 700,000 as of the end of last year, of which 1,331 are the city’s famous trademarks, according to the local industry and commerce administration.