Beijing Wuyi International Intellectual Property Answers,

1. Legal risks of unregistered trademarks and misidentified logos

my country’s trademark protection adopts the registration principle. A registered trademark does not have exclusive rights and cannot be protected when used by others; and if others preemptively register it, the company may face the risk that it will no longer be able to use the trademark or logo. The damage caused by this legal risk not only makes all the brand building investments invested by the company in vain, but also requires a large amount of investment to re-establish the brand. Therefore, the legal risk of having a trademark preemptively registered by others is a high risk for enterprises.

The law prohibits the registration of generic names as trademarks. Many industries have some common sayings in the industry, but these terms are not common names from the perspective of trademark registration. When an enterprise uses certain names, especially those that have a certain degree of commonality, as logos, it should carefully check whether they are common names and whether they can be registered as trademarks. Misunderstanding that a logo is a common name that cannot be registered as a trademark will delay the company's application for trademark registration. Moreover, the legal risk of such misunderstanding is an implicit legal risk for business operators, and it is difficult to re-identify it before a legal crisis actually occurs.

2. Legal risks of not fully exercising your trademark application rights

According to the different results of trademark examination, the laws of various countries have stipulated strict examination procedures. my country’s Trademark Law stipulates a two-instance and final review system. The first instance is reviewed by the Trademark Office. The Trademark Office believed that the substance of the trademark registration application submitted by the applicant did not comply with the provisions of the Trademark Law, and issued a notice rejecting the trademark application. If the applicant has no objections to the Trademark Office’s reasons for rejecting the application and the cited legal provisions, the Trademark Office’s review will be concluded. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the reasons and legal basis for rejection by the Trademark Office, he or she may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for review.

3. Trademark application strategy and legal risks

Trademark strategy is for the framer to use the legal protection provided by the trademark system for the sake of his own long-term interests and development, and to compete in non-technical factors and the market. An integrated synthesis of overall strategic concepts, strategies and tactics that seeks maximum economic benefits in competition and maintains its own non-technical competitive advantage. As a branch of trademark strategy, trademark application strategy is to achieve the overall goal of trademark strategy. In trademark application activities, the impact of different trademark registration time, application category, trademark text and graphics and other factors are comprehensively considered according to actual needs to determine the overall application plan.

1. Time schedule and legal risks for trademark registration

It generally takes a long time for a trademark to be applied for and approved for registration. According to the regulations of various countries, the shortest time is about one year. Longer ones take several years. When many companies create a brand, they often put it on the market first and then decide whether to register a trademark based on the actual market effect. As corporate brand awareness increases, the legal risks of being preempted by others are increasing. In addition, the trademark registration cycle is long. During the process from application to obtaining a registered trademark, companies may be counterfeited or maliciously register similar trademarks due to the actual use of the trademark in society. Since the company still does not have the exclusive right to use the trademark at this time and cannot prohibit others from doing so, the legal risk of diluting the trademark due to malicious behavior is obvious.

2. Legal risks of lack of defensive trademark registration

Legal risks of lack of defensive trademark registration mainly include:

(1) Similar or similar trademarks are The legal risks of others’ preemptive registration. The existence of multiple similar or similar trademarks in the same category of goods will directly lead to the dilution of trademark rights. Although the law stipulates that a trademark that is confusing with someone else's registered trademark cannot be registered, the confusion provided by the law is narrower than the commonly understood similarity or approximation, which makes the legal risk of trademark dilution objective.

(2) Legal risks of the same trademark being registered in different categories. Under trademark law, only well-known trademarks can restrict others’ trademark registration across categories. The recognition of well-known trademarks is complicated. Most trademarks already have high popularity before they are recognized as well-known trademarks. If others register the same name trademark in other categories, it will cause the company's trademark rights to be diluted, which not only affects the company's image, but also limits the company's cross-industry development. In addition, if a trademark belongs to multiple legal entities in different categories, it will be difficult for the trademark to be recognized as a well-known trademark.

Among the legal risks arising from the lack of defensive trademark registration, this risk is more serious than the legal risks of similar or similar trademarks, and may even directly lead to the failure of the company's entire brand strategy.