In the daily declaration of well-known trademarks in China, we often meet the questions raised by enterprises: What benefits can the declaration of well-known trademarks bring to enterprises? In fact, to put it bluntly, the subtext of the enterprise is: Why does our enterprise have to spend a lot of money to declare and identify China's well-known trademarks? First, well-known trademarks in China can be protected by domestic laws. Well-known trademarks are intangible wealth. Whoever owns a well-known trademark is equal to mastering alchemy. In order to effectively protect the interests of well-known trademark owners, according to the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, combined with China's actual situation, China has strengthened the protection of well-known trademarks in this revision of the Trademark Law. The purpose of identifying well-known trademarks in China is to solve the conflict of trademark rights and protect the legitimate rights and interests of well-known trademark owners. After Chinese trademarks are recognized, they can enjoy the rights of well-known trademarks stipulated in the Trademark Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). Well-known trademarks can be protected more than ordinary trademarks after being recognized. Identifying well-known trademarks is a legal protection means to solve trademark infringement disputes, and the principle of "case identification" and passive protection is adopted. If a product that has obtained a well-known trademark encounters an infringement dispute, it may take the well-known trademark as a protected record and submit it to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for arbitration. Article 13 of the Trademark Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that a trademark applied for registration on the same or similar goods is a well-known trademark copied, imitated or translated by others and not registered in China. If it is easy to cause confusion, it shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited. Where a trademark applied for registration on different or dissimilar goods is a well-known trademark registered by others in China, misleading the public and possibly harming the interests of the registrant of the well-known trademark, it shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited. Paragraph 2 of Article 4 1 of the Trademark Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that when the owner of a well-known trademark registered in bad faith requests the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to decide to cancel the registered trademark that caused him losses, it is not limited by the five-year period of this paragraph. Article 13 of the Provisions on the Recognition and Protection of Well-known Trademarks issued by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce stipulates that if a party thinks that another person has registered his well-known trademark as an enterprise name, it may deceive the public or cause misunderstanding to the public, he may apply to the enterprise name registration authority for cancellation of the enterprise name registration, and the enterprise name registration authority shall handle it in accordance with the Provisions on the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration. Article 14 of the Provisions of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on the Recognition and Protection of Well-known Trademarks stipulates that industrial and commercial administrative departments at all levels should strengthen the protection of well-known trademarks, and cases suspected of counterfeiting trademarks should be promptly transferred to relevant departments. Article 2 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Trademark Civil Disputes stipulates that: in accordance with the provisions of Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law, if a well-known trademark or its main part is copied, imitated or translated and used as a trademark on the same or similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion, it shall bear the civil legal responsibility to stop the infringement. The provisions of these laws and regulations mean: 1. A trademark recognized as a well-known trademark in China has the right to prohibit others from registering or using its well-known trademark in a certain range of non-similar trademarks, in addition to enjoying the exclusive right to use the trademark generated by trademark registration according to law. 2. In the case of strong distinctiveness and high popularity, a trademark recognized as a well-known trademark in China has the right to prohibit others from using it as part of the enterprise name. 3. When the infringement is determined, if the plaintiff is the owner of a well-known trademark, it is very likely that the administrative law enforcement or judicial organ will determine that the defendant is similar to his trademark. With the rapid development of Internet, the protection of well-known trademarks has extended to this virtual space. In other words, the power of well-known trademarks has extended to the network field, that is, it is absolutely forbidden for others to maliciously rush to register the domain name right of well-known trademarks, and register and use the domain name that is the same as or similar to other well-known trademarks. Specifically, applying for a well-known trademark has the following advantages for trademark protection: 1, resisting malicious cybersquatting; 2. Deal with the influence of the same (similar) trademark of different commodities; 3. It is easier to identify similar trademarks; 4, in the investigation of counterfeit trademark crime cases, not limited by the amount of filing; 5. Prevent other companies from registering well-known trademarks as company names; 6. Avoid registering domain names in e-commerce. Second, well-known trademarks in China can be protected by foreign laws. The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights signed in 1883 have made effective and specific provisions on the special protection of well-known trademarks. Paragraph 1 of Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property stipulates that if a trademark belongs to the person protected by this Convention and is used to counterfeit, imitate or translate a well-known trademark on the same or similar goods in that country, it will easily cause confusion. Members of the Union shall, according to their functions and powers permitted by domestic laws or at the request of relevant parties, refuse or cancel their registration and prohibit their use. Paragraph 3 of Article 16 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization stipulates that Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention applies in principle to goods or services that are not similar to those marked by registered trademarks. As long as the trademark is used on similar goods or services, it will imply that the goods or services have some connection with the registered trademark owner, so that the interests of the registered trademark owner may be harmed. China is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and has joined the World Trade Organization. It is our duty to fulfill the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and to protect well-known trademarks registered or unregistered by member countries in China. The monopoly right outside the geographical scope refers to the exclusive right of well-known trademarks, not the exclusive right of trademarks in the general legal sense, but the monopoly right beyond the domestic scope and protected by all countries in the world (at least nearly 200 members of the Paris Convention). That is to say, when a trademark has been recognized as a well-known trademark by the trademark authorities in the country of registration or use, if another trademark constitutes a counterfeit of the well-known trademark and is used on the same or similar goods, its registration shall be rejected or revoked, and its use shall be prohibited. These provisions also apply to trademarks whose main part is forgery, imitation or imitation of another well-known trademark, which is easy to cause confusion. This can be called "relative protectionism", which is adopted by civil law countries. Many countries in the Anglo-American legal system adopt "absolute protectionism", that is, the owner of a well-known trademark not only has the right to prohibit anyone else from using his well-known trademark on the same or similar goods, but also has the right to prohibit the use of his well-known trademark on all other goods. With China's accession to the WTO and the progress of international cooperation in intellectual property protection, the recognition of China's well-known trademarks has also been recognized by trademark authorities and judicial organs in other countries, making China's well-known trademarks play an important role in solving international trademark disputes. 3. Well-known trademarks in China are the representatives of corporate image. Well-known trademarks in China are the economic business cards of an enterprise, a city and even a region. Well-known trademarks are not only intellectual achievements, but also a symbol of corporate culture and a representative of the glorious image of enterprises. Practice has proved that the higher the popularity of a trademark, the higher its gold content. Well-known trademarks can not only double the value of designated goods, but also benefit other products of enterprises, improve the attractiveness of enterprises to the outside world, and then double the overall value of enterprises. The number of well-known trademarks is a yardstick to measure the degree of economic development in a region. Whoever owns more well-known trademarks will have rolling financial resources. China's coastal provinces such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian, etc., because of their developed economies, have the highest number of well-known trademarks in China in China. In today's increasingly fierce market competition, well-known trademarks are playing an increasingly important role. For consumers, well-known trademarks mean excellent product quality and high corporate reputation; For well-known trademark owners, well-known trademarks are valuable wealth, which means a wide market share and extraordinary entrepreneurial ability. In modern society, consumers' demand for goods is not only focused on quality and appearance, but also includes taste and fashion, which represents a certain identity and status. Therefore, with the development of science and technology, the expansion of knowledge and information, and the continuous improvement of living standards, trademarks themselves contain huge intangible assets and are indispensable valuable wealth for enterprises. A well-known trademark can convey to the buyer a lot of information about the goods or services it represents: excellent quality, long-term stability of quality, adaptability to the buyer's consumption habits, satisfaction of psychological enjoyment, etc. These market-tested information not only simplifies the buying behavior of buyers, but also simplifies the selling behavior of sellers. In other words, the buyer does not need to know all the above information one by one when purchasing, but only needs to identify the trademark, which is the so-called "brand identification purchase" based on trust; Sellers don't have to go to great lengths to publicize the above information, but only need to repeat their trademarks through advertisements and other media during the sales process. Therefore, it can be said that well-known trademarks have become a stable link between buyers and sellers. Fourth, the legal effect of judicial identification and administrative identification of well-known trademarks in China is the same in theory, and they will receive special protection and advertising after identification, but there are still five important differences: 1) The identification institutions of the two are different. The administrative determination of well-known trademarks in China is under the unified responsibility of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The judicial determination of well-known trademarks in China is determined by the court hearing the case, that is to say, the first-instance cases of trademark civil disputes are under the jurisdiction of the people's courts at or above the intermediate level, and all courts with disputed trademark cases can determine them. 2) The remedial measures after determination are different. At present, there is no clear regulation on whether the administrative determination result of well-known trademarks can only be requested for review or brought an administrative lawsuit. If you are dissatisfied with a specific administrative act made by the industrial and commercial department (such as the decision on administrative punishment) or the decision or ruling of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, you may bring an administrative lawsuit. For the judicial determination of well-known trademarks, if they are not satisfied with the result of the determination of well-known trademarks by the court of first instance, the parties may appeal to the higher court and re-determine the fact that the disputed trademark is well-known in the second instance. If you are not satisfied with the results of the second trial, you can theoretically request re-appraisal through the trial supervision procedure. 3) The influence of the two is very different. China's well-known trademarks recognized through administrative channels will be uniformly announced in the name of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce after being recognized by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, and will enter the national industrial and commercial network system, so they have strong authority in the national industrial and commercial administration system. The administrative departments for industry and commerce at all levels in China will strengthen protection according to the special protection requirements of well-known trademarks, and other companies and individuals are not allowed to register well-known trademarks as company names. Well-known trademarks recognized by court cases will not be published nationwide because they are only recognized by specific courts (intermediate or high courts) that hear cases. In contrast, the appraisal will have a high authority in the court system or the industrial and commercial department where the appraisal court is located, but the actual effect in other industrial and commercial administrative departments in China is still uncertain. Because there is no national announcement, foreign industrial and commercial departments may not know that the trademark has been recognized as a well-known trademark by the court, so when the trademark holding company marks the product as a well-known trademark, foreign industrial and commercial departments are likely to investigate and deal with it as a counterfeit. Of course, after the investigation, the relevant companies can appeal with the court verdict. 4) The provisions for reexamination or identification of well-known trademarks are different. As far as the court is concerned, if one party requests to protect a well-known trademark that has been recognized by an administrative organ or a people's court, and the other party has no objection to the well-known trademark involved, the people's court will not examine it. If an objection is raised, the people's court will review it according to Article 14 of the Trademark Law. As far as the industrial and commercial departments are concerned, the protection scope of a case that has been recognized as a well-known trademark is basically the same as that of a case that has been protected as a well-known trademark, and the other party has no objection to the well-known trademark, or although there is objection, it cannot provide evidence that the trademark is not well-known. The administrative department for industry and commerce that accepts the case may make a ruling or handle it according to the conclusion of the protection record. If the scope of protection of the accepted case is different from that of the case that has been protected as a well-known trademark, or if the other party has objections to the well-known trademark and provides evidence to prove that the trademark is not well-known, the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall re-examine the well-known trademark materials and make a determination. 5) Some local governments have different reward standards. Some provincial and municipal governments do not give awards to well-known trademarks recognized by the judiciary, or the amount of awards is only half that of well-known trademarks recognized by China's administration. In addition, the judicial determination is generally expressed as "the fact that a trademark with a certain registration number has a well-known trademark" in the judgment, while the administrative determination is generally expressed as "a trademark with a certain registration number is recognized as a well-known trademark in China" in the announcement. Knowing the above differences, enterprises can weigh them carefully and make their own judgments. Comments |