Any business activity coexists with value and risk, and trademark registration is no exception. So what are the risks of trademark registration? Today, the editor will sort out the risks involved in trademark registration. Friends, Get up and collect some useful stuff.
1. Incompleteness and lag of prior trademark information
Because the Trademark Office receives a large number of various trademark applications every day, and these application materials must be manually processed one by one. Classification is carried out and entered into the Trademark Office database through scanning. Therefore, it takes a certain period of time from the date when various trademark application documents are received by the Trademark Office until they can be retrieved from the computer database, which is commonly referred to as a query blind spot. Similarly, there is a certain procedural cycle for each examination process and link in each functional department of the Trademark Office. In particular, the work efficiency of state agencies is generally not high, and there are also great differences between different examiners. This results in other trademark examination information There are also lagging and incomplete information situations. Although the Trademark Office’s computer system has undergone many comprehensive transformations and improvements in work management over the years, it has been greatly improved compared to before, but no matter what, this phenomenon is unavoidable and exists objectively for a considerable period of time. .
2. Limitations of information sources in the review
The most complete and reliable information based on the Trademark Office’s active review is the trademark registration and application information accumulated by the Trademark Office over the years. . Others, such as place names above the county level, certain industries, product information, etc., must be collected and organized by the Trademark Office step by step. Because the sources of information are passive and lagging, it is normal for some to be missed. The Trademark Office will not pay attention to information such as patent registration and copyright registration at all. Only the rights holders themselves will protect their rights and interests through the opposition procedure after discovering it during the three-month passive review during the preliminary trademark announcement period.
3. Errors caused by the subjective and objective differences between examiners
The examination of each trademark registration application is completed independently by each examiner, because different examiners are specialized in There are certain differences in scope, knowledge, work experience, sense of responsibility, etc., and the review results will inevitably be affected by a variety of subjective and objective factors. For the same type of case, different examiners and different types of examiners may reach completely opposite determination results. Because the nature of the industry and the characteristics of goods/services involved in different categories are different, the control of the review standards is also different. After the examiner adjusts the review categories, it is easy to cause the review standards to be inconsistent.
In general, trademark review is a highly subjective task, so differences are inevitable.
4. The periodic nature of regulations and policies results in changes in examination standards
Since my country’s Trademark Law was promulgated in 1983, relevant trademark laws, regulations and policies have changed with the development of the market economy and new issues. The emergence of the Internet has been undergoing dynamic development and phased adjustments, and this dynamic adjustment will continue for a considerable period of time. This adjustment will inevitably affect the review standards.
In particular, my country's administrative regulations and policies often bear the mark of the times and change with the changes of time. Therefore, if you do not understand the changes and trends in policies, but treat trademarks and review standards in a static and isolated manner, there will be deviations in understanding and judgment.