[Jian Xu] Cost effective way to have an indication whether a trade mark is vulnerable to non-use cancellation in China

Regarding the non-use cancellation of trade marks, it depends on whether the trade mark owner can produce sufficient evidence of use. So it is out of control of the client and can be unpredictable. However, in practice, the non-use cancellation turns out to be a good weapon in China, as many Chinese companies and individuals tend not to use the mark if this mark is not central to their business. 

Consequently, it's a good option to try filing a non-use cancellation, in situations like (a) the client's own application is blocked by cited mark which is over three years in registration; (b) the client is unable to remove a squatted mark due to strict evidence requirements in China, but the squatted mark is over three years in registration.

Still, most clients would like to know for more certainty whether the mark has been used. In practice, it is very hard to do such a due diligence. The site investigations or market surveys usually are not conclusive and can barely act as a reference, and they are very expensive to arrange. A good low-cost indicator of trade mark use is to do a preliminary online search. If the online search shows lots of links/reports about the mark, then it is likely to be used. If not, then it’s worth a try to file a non-use cancellation and roll the odds.