well-known trademark
A well-known trademark refers to a trademark that is widely known by the relevant public and enjoys a high reputation. Well-known trademarks not only have the characteristics of distinctiveness and popularity, but also have the characteristics of strong competitiveness, high popularity, good credibility and wide influence.
Well-known trademarks are not only an intellectual property right of trademark owners, but also an important property right. International conventions such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights do not specify the standards for the recognition of well-known trademarks in any form, and the specific standards are generally determined by the member States of the conventions.
When identifying well-known trademarks in China, we mainly examine five factors:
First, look at the relevant public's awareness of the trademark;
The second is to look at the duration of trademark use;
Third, look at the duration, degree and geographical scope of any publicity of trademarks;
The fourth is to look at the record that the trademark is protected as a well-known trademark;
Fifth, other factors. Of course, when determining whether a trademark is a well-known trademark, it is not required to meet the above five conditions at the same time.
In order to prevent and reduce the infringement of the exclusive right to use well-known trademarks, China's current trademark law refers to the relevant provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights, and strengthens the protection of well-known trademarks from two aspects: First, it stipulates the protection of well-known trademarks that are not registered in China, that is, trademarks of the same or similar goods applied for registration are copied, imitated or translated by others, which is easy to cause confusion. Second, it provides for the protection of well-known trademarks that have been registered in China, that is, if the trademarks of different or similar goods applied for registration are well-known trademarks already registered by others, misleading the public and possibly damaging the interests of well-known trademark registrants, they shall not be registered and prohibited from being used.
A famous symbol
The so-called well-known trademark refers to a registered trademark with high market reputation and commercial value that is well known to the relevant public and recognized according to law. The famous trademark recognition institution is the provincial administrative department for industry and commerce.
Appraisal standards are mainly measured and defined from the following aspects:
First, the trademark has been used continuously for three years since the date of approval and registration;
Second, the goods using the trademark have excellent quality and after-sales service among similar goods in the province or in China, and have high visibility and good market reputation among the relevant public;
Third, the main economic indicators such as annual output, sales, profit and market share of the goods using the trademark are among the best in the same industry in the province or similar products in China; Fourth, trademark registrants have sound measures for the use, protection and management of trademarks.
Since the date when a famous trademark is recognized, if others regard the same or similar words as part of the enterprise name, which may cause public misunderstanding, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall not approve the registration; The registrant of a registered trademark or famous trademark may, within two years from the date when he knows or should know, request the industrial and commercial authorities to cancel it.
well-known trademark
A well-known trademark generally refers to a registered trademark owned by the trademark owner within the local (city) scope, which enjoys a high reputation in the market and is well known to the relevant public. Local (city) administrations for industry and commerce are responsible for the identification and management of local (city) well-known trademarks.
The recognition standards of well-known trademarks vary from place to place, but the following aspects should generally be considered:
First, the trademark is a domestic valid registered trademark owned by enterprises, institutions, social organizations and individual industrial and commercial households established according to law within the local (city) scope;
Second, the product coverage and market share of trademarks are among the best in the local industry;
Third, the comprehensive benefits of enterprises are good, and the main economic indicators (sales, profits and taxes, etc. ) the use of the trademark in the past two years is ahead of the local industry;
Fourth, pay attention to the advertising of trademarks, which has a high reputation among the relevant public;
Fifth, the quality of goods using the trademark is stable and reliable, and the consumer complaint rate is low;
Sixth, there has been no illegal business operation in the past three years.
Since the date when a well-known trademark is recognized, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall not approve the registration if others use the same or similar words as the name of the enterprise that produces the same or similar products, which may cause public misunderstanding; Other business operators shall not use the unique names, packages or similar names of goods recognized as well-known trademarks without authorization.
Similarities and differences among the three.
Well-known trademarks, well-known trademarks, well-known trademarks? Famous trademark? There are many similarities and significant differences between them, mainly in the following aspects:
The difference between well-known trademarks, well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks;
First, the accreditation bodies are different: well-known trademarks are recognized by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce or the people's courts according to judicial procedures, well-known trademarks are recognized by provincial industrial and commercial departments, and well-known trademarks are generally recognized by local (city) industrial and commercial departments.
Second, the recognition standards are different: well-known trademarks must be known to the relevant public in the country, while well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks must at least be known to the relevant public in this province or local (city).
Third, the requirements for trademark registration are different: well-known trademarks can be registered or not, while well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks must be registered.
The three can also be transformed into each other, because the reputation and popularity of each trademark are constantly changing with the passage of time or the changes in the way trademark users use it. Well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks can gradually evolve into well-known trademarks, and well-known trademarks may also be diluted into well-known trademarks or even ordinary trademarks.
The difference between American and Japanese trademarks
The protection fields of unregistered trademarks in the United States are divided into general trademarks and well-known trademarks. The United States protects general trademarks according to the principle of confusion, and actually fulfills the obligation of Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention. For well-known trademarks, the United States passed the Anti-Trademark Dilution Law and the Restatement of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which did not distinguish between registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks, and all of them were protected according to the dilution principle. In the United States, the threshold for identifying well-known trademarks is very high. The newly added 43(C)(2)(a) of the Trademark Dilution Amendment Act (TDRA) clearly stipulates that whether a trademark is well-known depends on whether it is widely recognized by American consumers and the public as a symbol indicating the source of goods. The drafters of TDRA explained that legal terms such as widespread public recognition and widespread consumption directly denied the reputation of the minority, that is, denied the application of some relevant public awareness in seeking anti-dilution protection.
The protection of unregistered trademarks in Japan can be divided into well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks. Article 2 1 of Japan's Law on the Prevention of Unfair Competition adopts the provision of preventing confusion? A well-known business symbol? The wording of the provisions on dilution theory in the second paragraph; A famous business logo? Wording. Well-known trademarks are only known among relevant consumers, while well-known trademarks must be known nationwide, that is, among unspecified traders and demanders. It can be seen that well-known trademarks are trademarks with higher popularity than well-known trademarks.
France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Denmark, South Korea and other civil law countries have also expanded the protection of trademarks with high reputation in their corresponding laws.