A trademark is a unique sign that distinguishes goods and services from other goods and services. This sign is usually a combination of words, numbers, graphics, etc.
In short, a trademark is a brand. Moutai's trademark is text, BMW's trademark is graphics, and most of them are a combination of graphics and text.
What does trademark right mean?
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It mainly includes three aspects: 1. Exclusive right of use:
The trademark owner has the exclusive right to use the registered trademark. , third parties cannot register and use identical or similar signs of the trademark on similar goods and services. They exclusively enjoy the intangible assets such as reputation brought by it. This brand is an overall reflection of the value, quality, reputation, etc. of goods and services.
From Shaxian snacks to Shaxian’s counterattack in more than 20,000 snack bars across the country, we can see the importance of trademarks and brands. Its valuation in China is 5 times that of KFC and 10 times that of McDonald’s. Qualcomm of the United States purchased Shanghai Qualcomm for tens of millions, but was still rejected by Shanghai Qualcomm, which shows the value of the trademark. 2 Licensing income rights:
The trademark owner has the right to obtain corresponding remuneration by licensing the trademark to others, such as the trademark lease relationship between Wanglaoji and Jiaduobao. 3. Right of disposal:
Investment, the trademark owner can use the trademark to invest in the establishment of companies, partnerships, etc.
Pledge, the trademark owner can pledge the trademark and set up a pledge of rights to guarantee the debts of himself or a third party.
Transfer, the trademark owner can transfer the trademark to a third party for a fee.
What are the consequences of not registering?
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Many small and medium-sized enterprises do not pay much attention to trademark registration in the early stages of development. They just focus on product and market promotion. After finally building a certain degree of popularity, you suddenly find that someone has already registered you. As a result, everything is in vain. In order to avoid this situation, you should take precautions in advance.
If we had paid attention in advance, there would have been no farce of changing ‘Didi’ to ‘Didi’, and there would have been no concentrated rush to sign up for ‘WeChat’.
It is very easy for unregistered trademarks to be registered by others first. Our country implements the 'first to apply' principle. This will cause the first user to no longer have the right to use the trademark. The lessons in this regard are profound. .
Because you cannot form your own industrial property rights, nor can you own the intangible assets it brings, and the importance of this asset goes without saying. A CEO of Apple once said: If the company goes bankrupt, but the trademark rights belong to Me, give me 10 years, I can make him make a comeback.
On the other hand, unregistered trademarks can easily be similar to registered trademarks for identical or similar goods and services, resulting in infringement.
In 2010, the number of trademark registrations in my country reached tens of millions, and according to statistics, the rejection rate for trademark registrations without first checking reached 70%.
In other words, the probability of infringement by using an unregistered trademark is about 70%. Infringements must bear legal consequences, including compensation for economic losses and administrative penalties, regardless of intentionality or knowledge. This will affect the normal production and operation of the enterprise.
How to register a trademark?
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There are several points to note when registering a trademark:
Selection of trademarks
Registered Time
Registration type
Registration process
Later maintenance
If you choose a company name, such as naming your child Likewise, a trademark is not only a mark that distinguishes one from others, but also has a deep meaning. A trademark is a perceptible reflection of a person's appearance, temperament, words and deeds.
Registration should be done sooner rather than later. In this regard, the shortcomings of Didi and Tencent's WeChat have led to many companies suing them for infringement. One of the companies claimed a claim of 80 million yuan. Having a good trademark strategy will not cause so much trouble.
In practice, it is wise to apply for a word trademark first, and then apply for graphic trademark protection after the product is formed, rather than applying for a combination of graphic and text trademarks after the product is formed.
The protection strategy of ‘set a good direction, choose a good category, and gradually improve it’. Trademarks are classified into forty-five categories, covering more than 10,000 goods and services. For example, regarding trademark protection on the Internet, categories 38 and 42 should be the first categories for makers to lay out.
In addition, in order to protect your own brand, you should take objection, invalidation, and acquisition methods as early as possible at the appropriate time.
Small standard trademark registration process:
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