Trademark defense is the best choice to protect the respondent's rights when the trademark is challenged by others, not registered for review, or revoked. I'll share it with you. Welcome to read it, for reference only!
Where an objection is raised to a trademark that has been preliminarily approved and announced, the Trademark Office shall listen to the facts and reasons stated by the objector and the objector, and make a ruling after investigation and verification. If a party refuses to accept the notice, it may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for reexamination within 15 days from the date of receiving the notice. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a ruling and notify the objector and the objector in writing of the main points of the trademark objection defense. Generally, the trademark objection defense should be stated according to the reasons for the trademark objection, and the content described should be targeted and well-founded. The main points that should be grasped in the defense call are:
1. Grasp the key points. Discuss the rational and favorable aspects in a comprehensive and detailed way. When arguing that the trademark is not similar, describe it from the aspects of sound, shape and meaning of the trademark; It is argued that the goods are not similar, and the differences are explained from the goods themselves, especially whether it affects consumers' purchase and use.
2. Highlight the advantages. If the trademark of the objector is original or has prior rights, it should be stated as an important content, which are powerful reasons and arguments for the objector. However, the objector should pay attention to whether the obligee has claimed to protect his rights in China when claiming the prior rights in trademark application and registration, because China's Trademark Law stipulates the principle of prior application and registration, and the trademarks that have been applied for or registered in China are more convincing than those registered in other countries or regions.
3, strong pertinence. The content of the respondent's reply cannot be divorced from the content of the trademark objection or completely irrelevant to the content of the objection, which is what we often say. The defense is to refute the reasons of the objector one by one, and his defense can't refute the objection of the objector.
Rationality must also be well-founded. To show the authenticity of the content of the defense, the objector must also provide evidence to prove that his defense is well-founded and not fabricated out of thin air.
reply on schedule. According to the provisions of the Trademark Law, the time limit for defense is within 3 days from the date when the respondent receives the notice of defense, and the overdue defense shall be treated as non-defense, and the supplement of defense materials shall not be indefinite. According to the current speed of the Trademark Office, it takes three to four months for the examiner to make a ruling from the time when the reply notice is sent to the time when the reply is received, including the time required for mailing. Therefore, if the defense still needs supplementary materials, it must be submitted in time.
the narrative of trademark objection and defense should also pay attention to the compactness of content, clear logical relationship, prominent focus and conciseness. We can't think that the longer the article is, the more reasonable it is, and the thicker the material is, the more convincing it is. As long as the point of view is made clear, it can play its due role.
contents of trademark objection defense
the objection defense of the objector should include the following contents:
1. The subject qualification of the person
must be the objector or the agent legally entrusted by the objector.
if the trademark objection defense is entrusted to a trademark agency, the power of attorney for trademark agency shall be attached.
based on the facts and reasons stated by the parties, the Trademark Office will make an objection ruling after investigation and verification, and make an objection ruling to inform both parties.
2. There are clear reasons for objection
In view of the objection reasons and evidence materials in the Trademark Objection Application, the objector should put forward corresponding defense reasons and evidence materials. Whether the defense reasons and evidence materials are sufficient or not will probably play a decisive role in the objection case.
3. Time limit for defense
The Trademark Law stipulates that the respondent must submit the defense materials to the Trademark Office within 3 days from the date of receiving the trademark objection. According to Article 1 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law, if the parties directly submit the defense and relevant evidential materials, the submission date shall prevail; By post, the postmark date shall prevail. If the postmark date is unclear or there is no postmark, the date actually received by the Trademark Office shall prevail. However, unless the parties can provide evidence of the actual postmark date. Although the law has this proviso, the parties should try their best to send an objection reply within the objection period and ensure that the postmark is clear to avoid unnecessary trouble. If the respondent's defense materials are submitted by mail and the postmark date is unclear, the actual date of receipt by the Trademark Office shall be the defense date. If the actual date of receipt exceeds the statutory objection period, it may lead to a ruling, which will inevitably have a negative impact on the interested parties and the opposition review work of the Trademark Office.
the trademark office will make a ruling in accordance with the law, regardless of whether the objector fails to reply or fails to reply within the prescribed time limit.
4. Other attached materials
The envelope sent by the Trademark Office to copy the trademark objection is used to determine whether the reply is filed within the prescribed time limit. * * * It should be sent to the Trademark Office together with the objection reply and materials.
5. If there are foreign documents in the defense materials provided by the objector, they must be translated into Chinese, otherwise, the foreign language objection defense will not be used as the objection defense materials and will be returned to the parties. * * * Notice of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on January 14, 1997 that Chinese and foreign documents on trademark objections should be accompanied by Chinese translations * *
6. Time limit for announcement and submission of supplementary evidence materials
According to the second paragraph of Article 22 of the Trademark Law, if a party needs to supplement relevant evidence materials after filing an objection reply, it shall announce it in the objection reply, and it shall do so from the date of submission of the objection reply. If it is not submitted at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that the parties have supplemented the relevant evidence materials.
if the trademark office fails to accept the supplementary defense materials and the objection is established, the objector may also apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for reexamination and submit the materials to be supplemented.
Trademark Objection Statement
Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce:
Objection-Xiao Hanfei made a comment on the objection made by Shaoshan Xinshaoguang Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. to the objection in the 11th category of "electric heaters; Electric stove; Electric pressure cooker * * * Pressure cooker * * *; Water heater; Heat pipe lamp; Induction cooker; Electric kettle; Hair dryer; The flashlight was applied for on October 2, 26, and the objection of No.567252 "Xinshaokang and Pinyin" announced on May 27, 29 was made as follows:
The objector thinks that the trademark "Xinshaokang and Pinyin" of the objector and its cited trademark * * *. It is enough to confuse and mistake consumers, and thinks that the challenged trademark is a brand-name trademark, which violates the provisions of Articles 9, 28 and 52 * * * * *. The Trademark Office shall reject the objection's trademark application.
The objector thinks:
The objected trademark is not similar to the cited trademark, which does not constitute deliberate copying or imitation of the trademark of the objector. Will not cause confusion and misunderstanding to consumers. The application for registration of the objected trademark does not violate Articles 9 and 28 of the Trademark Law.
The reasons are as follows:
1. The text meaning and composition of the challenged trademark and the cited trademark are completely different.
First of all, in terms of meaning, both trademarks begin with the word "new", and "new" is a modifier, which is only the prefix of the main body of the trademark. The word "new" is generally interpreted as: newly existing and newly experienced; Initial, unused, as opposed to "old" and "old"
the subject of the objected trademark is "Shaokang", and the subject of the cited trademark is "Shaoguang".
the meaning of Shao kang: Shao, beautiful; Kang, peaceful, not sick. Shaokang means beautiful and peaceful.
the meaning of new Shaokang is: unprecedented beauty and peace.
and the meaning of "new Shaoguang" is far from it. Xinshaoguang's company is from Shaoshan City, so Shao in its trademark should be interpreted as the abbreviation of Shaoshan, and light should be interpreted as glory, brilliance or brightness.
New Shaoguang should be understood as: brand-new glory of Shaoshan people or new glory of Shaoshan people.
in terms of their meanings, the world is very different, which will not make consumers associate the two trademarks with each other in the meaning of trademarks, or confuse them.
secondly, the challenged trademark and the cited trademark have different forms.
the challenged trademark is a combination trademark of Chinese and pinyin, while the cited trademark is a pure Chinese trademark.
secondly, in terms of its composition, the biggest difference between the two trademarks lies in the last word of the trademark, one is "Kang" and the other is "Guang". Both "Kang" and "Guang" are commonly used words, and their pronunciation and meaning are familiar to the public and easy to identify. "kang" is a compound word with semi-enclosed structure, and "guang" is a single character, which is very different visually. The pinyin of "Kang" and the pinyin of "Guang" are also very different audibly. "Light" and "Kang" are the most important and recognizable parts of its trademark body.
"Xin Shaoguang" and "Xin Shaokang" are quite different in sound, form and meaning, so consumers will not confuse or mistake "Xin Shaokang" and "Xin Shaoguang" at all.
Xiao hanfei, the objector, named his trademark "Xinshaokang" by consulting a large number of books, hoping that his electrical products could bring a better and peaceful life to consumers. He created it entirely by himself and did not imitate or copy others.
Secondly, the dissident said in his trademark objection that the trademarks such as New Sunshine, New Yuguang and New Haoguang identified by Hunan Xiangzhi Judicial Appraisal Institute are similar to the cited trademark "New Shaoguang".
this is only a case, and it is not exclusive. It can't be said that Hunan Xiangzhi Judicial Appraisal Institute identified trademarks such as "New Sunshine", "New Yuguang" and "New Haoguang" as similar trademarks to the cited trademark "New Shaoguang". Then "Xinshaokang" should also be similar to "Xinshaoguang". The objector expressed doubts about whether the identification result of Hunan Xiangzhi Judicial Appraisal Institute has legal effect. If any provincial identification institution can make a complete judgment on whether the trademark is approximate, then what is the significance of the existence of the Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board?
2. The objector thinks that the objector has violated Article 52, paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law. According to Article 52, paragraph 1, of the Trademark Law, if a trademark identical with or similar to its registered trademark is used on the same commodity or similar commodity without the permission of the trademark registrant, it is an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark. So far, the objected trademark has not been used at all, so there is no violation of Article 52, paragraph 1, of the Trademark Law, which means that the dissenter quotes the regulations at random and adds unwarranted "charges" to the dissenter.
to sum up, it can be seen that the name of the objected trademark was originally created by the objected, which has the distinctiveness that a trademark should have, and does not constitute imitation or plagiarism of the cited trademark. The objected trademark is not similar to the cited trademark, and will not cause misunderstanding and confusion among consumers. The application for registration of the objected trademark does not violate Articles 9 and 28 of the Trademark Law.
with the progress of the times, the brand awareness of merchants is constantly enhanced, and the discriminating ability of consumers is also constantly enhanced. It is not that as long as there is one or two words identical between two trademarks, consumers will misunderstand them. The number of applications for trademarks has increased sharply, and the choice of commonly used words and words has also decreased. The difficulty in naming trademarks has greatly increased. If only one or two words on a trademark are the same as a well-known brand, it will be considered as a trademark approximation, then the road to brand development of small enterprises will become full of thorns and even more difficult.
The dissenter's objection reason lacks factual and legal basis, so we urge the Trademark Office to give more help and development space to small enterprises. Ruling that the objection is not established according to law, and approving the registration of the objected trademark.
Respondent: XXXX
Date: XX, XX, XX
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