What to do about trademark infringement
First, conduct necessary legal investigation and legal consultation and collect evidence.
Second, lodge strong protests and representations with the suspected infringers, demanding that they immediately stop the infringement.
Third, complain to the industrial and commercial administration and request an end to the infringement.
Fourth, file a lawsuit with the People’s Court.
Fifth, ask the other party to compensate for the loss, eliminate the impact, and apologize.
Sixth, we must actively cooperate with cases that are proactively investigated and dealt with by the industrial and commercial administration authorities in accordance with their powers and provide the "Trademark Registration Certificate" and other evidence and clues.
Seventh, request customs to seize infringing products that may be exported.
Eighth, those suspected of committing a crime must immediately report the case to the public security department. How to obtain evidence for trademark infringement
You can obtain evidence by yourself, or you can entrust a professional lawyer to obtain evidence:
1. Documents proving the prior rights of the infringed party. (Including trademark registration certificate, patent certificate, copyright registration certificate, case-related award certificates, etc.)
2. Product samples of the infringed party.
3. Samples of infringing products.
4. Proof of purchasing infringing products. This mainly refers to the purchase invoice. The invoice must indicate the name of the infringing product, the place where the infringing product was purchased, the price of the infringing product, the name of the seller, etc. How is a trademark considered infringement?
The Trademark Law provides a legal definition of infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark, and there are five types of violations:
(1) Without the permission of the trademark registrant , using a trademark that is identical or similar to its registered trademark on the same kind of goods or similar goods is a trademark infringement act. The same kind of goods mentioned here refers to the same goods as the goods for which the registered trademark is approved; similar goods refer to the functions, uses, raw materials, sales channels, consumer objects, producers and operators of the goods, which are easy for consumers to use. It is difficult to identify the source of goods, resulting in misidentification and mis-purchase; identical trademarks refer to trademarks that are visually indistinguishable or have very subtle differences; similar trademarks refer to trademarks that are compared as a whole and are difficult to distinguish, causing consumers to confuse Mixed trademarks.
(2) Selling goods that infringe the exclusive rights of a registered trademark is a trademark infringement. This means that as a seller of goods, you should not sell goods that infringe the exclusive rights of a registered trademark. If you sell them, it is a trademark infringement. However, it is not an easy task for everyone who sells goods to understand the status of trademarks on thousands or tens of thousands of goods. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the actual situation and correctly understand and use this item. Legal requirements.
(3) It is a trademark infringement act to forge or create without authorization a registered trademark of another person or to sell a forged or unauthorized registered trademark. It should be emphasized here that a trademark is a sign that distinguishes the source of goods. Its tangible carrier is the trademark logo, and the trademark plays the role of identifying the goods through the trademark logo. Trademark identification includes trademarked packaging, labels, seals, instructions, certificates and other items. Precisely because a trademark logo is a carrier that embodies the exclusive right to use a trademark, the act of counterfeiting, creating without authorization, or selling these trademark logos registered by others is a trademark infringement act.
(4) Without the consent of the trademark registrant, changing the registered trademark and putting the goods with the changed trademark back into the market is a trademark infringement. This infringement occurs because the trademark is changed without the consent of the trademark registrant in the business operation. The so-called business operation is to put the goods on the market after changing the trademark.
(5) Any act that causes other damage to the exclusive right to use a registered trademark of others is also considered trademark infringement. This item summarizes other trademark infringements that cannot be included in the above four items. This provision shows that the most basic feature of infringement of registered trademark rights is to cause damage to others’ trademark rights. It can be said that whether Damage caused is an important indicator of infringement. What are the administrative solutions to trademark infringement?
(1) The administrative jurisdiction of trademark infringement cases can be either the industrial and commercial administrative department where the infringer is located, or the industrial and commercial administrative department where the infringement occurred.
(2) After receiving trademark infringement cases, the industrial and commercial administration departments at or above the county level shall stop the infringement through investigation and evidence collection and on the premise of determining the facts, and make decisions based on the infringer’s illegal facts and the severity of the circumstances. Administrative penalties.
Specific punishment measures include: 1. Order to stop sales immediately; 2. Invite and destroy the infringing trademark logo; 3. Eliminate the infringing trademark on the current trademark; 4. Invite molds, printing plates or other crime tools that are directly used for trademark infringement. ; 5. Order and supervise the destruction of items; 6. Depending on the circumstances, a fine of not more than 50% of the illegal business revenue or not more than five times of the profits obtained from the infringement shall be imposed, and the infringer may be ordered to compensate the infringed party for the losses.
(3) If the commercial administrative agency believes that the exclusive right to use a registered trademark has been infringed, it may exercise the following powers when investigating and collecting evidence: 1. Question the relevant parties; 2. Inspect items related to the infringing activities, and if necessary, It can be ordered to be sealed for reading; 3. Investigate behaviors related to infringement activities; 4. Review and copy contracts, account books and other business materials related to infringement activities.
Choosing the industrial and commercial administrative department to handle trademark infringement cases has its own unique advantages: the personnel handling the case are familiar with the business, the handling procedures are simple, and the case is concluded quickly, thus saving time and effort. However, its obvious shortcoming is that the administrative decision has no final effect. If the parties are dissatisfied with the handling of the industrial and commercial administrative organs, they can still file a lawsuit in the People's Court. How to punish trademark infringement
For those who infringe on the exclusive right to register a trademark, according to Article 53 of the Trademark Law and Article 43 of the Implementing Rules of the Trademark Law, the industrial and commercial administrative authorities may Take the following measures to impose penalties.
(1) Order to stop infringement
The specific measures are as follows:
①Order to stop sales immediately;
②Confiscate and destroy the infringing goods ;
③ Confiscate and destroy tools specifically used to manufacture infringing goods and forge registered trademarks.
(2) Imposition of fines
For those who infringe the exclusive rights of registered trademarks but have not yet constituted a crime, the industrial and commercial administration authorities may impose a fine of less than 50% of the illegal business revenue or the profits obtained from the infringement according to the circumstances. A fine of not more than five times; the person directly responsible for the infringement unit may be fined not more than 10,000 yuan according to the circumstances.
If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the above two treatments, the party concerned may file a lawsuit in the People's Court in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" within 15 days from the date of receiving the notice. If neither prosecution nor performance is made within the time limit, the industrial and commercial administration authority shall apply to the People's Court for compulsory enforcement.
(3) Mediate on the amount of compensation for infringement of trademark exclusive rights
The industrial and commercial administrative department that handles the case may, at the request of the parties, mediate on the amount of compensation for infringement of trademark exclusive rights. , if mediation fails, the parties may file a lawsuit in the People's Court in accordance with the law.
The full text on the conditions that constitute trademark infringement and how to punish trademark infringement has been completed. If your normal business activities are found to be trademark infringement, you must actively protect your own interests and not passively resist. If you encounter such a situation, you can entrust a professional intellectual property lawyer to help you protect your rights.
The above is what the editor provides you with what to do about trademark infringement. I hope you like it! Trademark Infringement