Business names are used to distinguish different companies, and trademarks are used to distinguish the source of goods.

When it comes to company names, people often confuse it with trademarks. In fact, they are two different things. For example, the familiar "Today's Toutiao" is a trademark. The trademark owner of "Today's Toutiao" is Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd., and this "Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd." is the name of the company. It can be seen that company names are used to distinguish different companies, and trademarks are used to distinguish the source of goods.

What is a business name?

A business name is the name of a company or enterprise as a legal person. As opposed to the name of a natural person, a business name must be approved and registered. Business names may not be used. The right to name an enterprise is limited to the approved and registered enterprise name.

The competent authority for enterprise name registration in my country is the Industry and Commerce Bureau. An enterprise is only allowed to use one name, which must not be the same or similar to the name of a registered enterprise in the same industry within the jurisdiction of the registration authority. Enterprise names identify civil subjects.

The composition of the company name

The company name should be composed of the following four basic elements in order:

Administrative division, font size, industry organization form

1. Administrative division

Administrative division refers to the name of the administrative division above the county level where the enterprise is located.

The administrative division name in the enterprise name can omit the words "province, city, county", etc., except where omission may cause misunderstanding.

2. Font size

Font size, that is, business name, refers to the title used to identify different operators in a certain region and a certain industry, and should consist of two or more Chinese characters.

As the main part of the company name, the font size has personal rights and cannot be used without registration.

In our country, the font size is the core element that constitutes the name of a company. It is the most critical factor for a company. It is the most obvious symbol that distinguishes different companies.

However, the distinction of the "font size" contained in a company name is very limited, because company names in different administrative divisions may contain the exact same font size.

For example, Beijing Daoxiangcun Food Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Daoxiangcun Food Industry Co., Ltd. have exactly the same trade name, "Daoxiangcun", but they belong to different civil entities, so they also need to be named with administrative divisions. Only then can we distinguish accurately.

Therefore, if a company only uses font size, it can easily lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

3. Industry

The industry or business characteristics should specifically reflect the business scope, methods or characteristics of the enterprise.

Words that identify industry or business characteristics can use a specific industry name according to the categories classified by the national industry classification standards, or general words can be used, but they cannot express or imply that they exceed the scope of their business. business.

4. Organizational form

Organizational form, that is, the words in the company name that reflect the company's structure and responsibility form, such as company, factory, center, etc.

At present, the names of the organizational forms of enterprises in our country are very diverse. In summary, they can be divided into two categories: one is the company type, such as a limited liability company and a joint stock company, and the other is General corporate categories, such as limited partnerships and centers.

The difference between font size and trademark

1. Font size is an integral part of the company name. A company can only have one company name. A trademark is an independent sign. A company can have multiple trademark.

2. The font size should consist of two or more Chinese characters, and Chinese pinyin letters and Arabic numerals are not allowed. The components of a trademark include Chinese characters, letters, numbers, graphics, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, sounds, etc.

3. The basic function of font size is to distinguish different operators and avoid consumers from confusing different operators. The basic function of a trademark is to distinguish the source of goods or services.

4. As part of the company name, the font size must be registered with the industry and commerce before it can be used.

Even if a trademark is not registered with the Trademark Office, it can still be used as a mark to distinguish different goods or services, but it does not enjoy the exclusive right to register a trademark. If the trademark registration is approved, you will obtain the exclusive right to register the trademark and enjoy strong protection under trademark law.

5. The enterprise name only enjoys the right to the enterprise name within the specific administrative region where it is registered. Once the trademark is approved and registered, it enjoys the exclusive right to register the trademark nationwide.

6. The enterprise name belongs exclusively to the enterprise and has personal attributes and cannot be transferred. As a mark for identifying civil subjects, the right to the enterprise name can only be transferred together with the enterprise and approved by the competent authority, but cannot be used as property. ?Independent transfer. The exclusive right to use a trademark is an independent property of an enterprise and can be transferred or licensed to others.

7. In order to avoid confusion among civil entities, the company name cannot be used by others. Even if the product carries the company name of the manufacturer or distributor, it does not mean that they are the quality controller of the product, because they may be manufacturing or distributing the product with the authorization of the trademark owner. Trademarks can be licensed to others, including exclusive use licenses, exclusive use licenses, and general use licenses.

The connection between font size and trademark

Font size and trademark are often very closely related. For example, some operators use their font size directly as a trademark, and some operators use their font size as a trademark. important component.

In order to obtain protection under the trademark law, a company name or company name can apply for trademark registration and obtain the exclusive right to register a trademark in accordance with the Trademark Law.

For example, in the example mentioned at the beginning of the article, Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd. not only registered the trademark "Toutiao", but also registered the font size "ByteDance" as a trademark.

Nowadays, companies are becoming more and more aware of intellectual property rights. They unify their font sizes and trademarks to strengthen the connection between the company name and the trademark. While increasing the visibility of the trademark, they also increase the visibility of the company name. .

Some unscrupulous competitors use other people’s well-known trademarks as font sizes in their business names, or apply for registration of other people’s well-known business names as trademarks, thus causing confusion among consumers. recognize.

Therefore, the biggest advantage of applying for a registered trademark is that the scope of legal protection can be extended to the entire country and is no longer limited to the administrative divisions where the company name has been approved and registered.

Summary

The main function of a company name is to identify civil subjects and enjoy the right to the company name.

The main function of a registered trademark is to identify the source of goods and enjoy the exclusive right to register a trademark.

Corporate name rights and registered trademark exclusive rights may overlap, but the legal nature is different.