A trademark, an image.
In some companies, trademark registration and use seem to be two completely unrelated things, both of which are handled by different departments, and people in different departments do not need to communicate, so the use of trademarks seems to be more casual. If we pay attention to their products of different series and levels, we will be surprised to find that the same trademark has many visual images. A company engaged in traditional manufacturing industry, in different series of products, its trademark (the image of a bird) will be different in color, and the number of feathers will also change. It is said that this is to make the trademark better adapt to the styles of different products and facilitate the installation of trademark signs.
Authorized trademark users sometimes like to make slight changes to the trademark logo according to their own preferences or needs, and even the appearance or image of the registered trademark approved by the enterprise is seriously inconsistent. If an enterprise conducts trademark audit on customers or partners, it will certainly find many unexpected situations related to trademarks.
For the trademark management department, it should examine whether the trademark used in advertising packaging and other media is the same as the registered trademark pattern. Once a trademark is registered, it must be used in accordance with the registered pattern. Even if it is designed to match the overall design, it should not be changed easily, so as not to violate the mandatory provisions of the trademark law and cause the registered trademark to fail to play its role.
Even from the perspective of establishing a business image, the purpose of a registered trademark is not allowed to be changed casually, especially the trademark logo should not be different in different places. The trademark "Coca-Cola" is registered and used in the same font all over the world, as originally designed. This font has become a part of the trademark to a great extent. Even people who don't know the letters "COCA-COLA" can still recognize the trademark from the font.
Therefore, keeping the image of trademark use consistent with that of trademark registration, and keeping the image of registered trademark used on different occasions, is in line with the legal requirements, and is also the need to shape the business image. In fact, before registering a trademark, we must first think about whether the pattern of the applied trademark will be the actual image in the future.
Of course, sometimes in order to register first, it is too late to design and fix the visual image of the actual use of the trademark in the future before applying for registration. With the change of company strategy and market, the design of existing registered trademarks will also change. Therefore, a trademark may need to apply for registration of different designs many times, and it is really difficult to realize the wish of "applying only once for subsequent exhibitions".
Establish management standards for trademark use
In order to standardize the use of trademarks inside and outside the company, a standardized management system for trademark use can be established. Usually, the standards of trademark use include element composition, size ratio, font form, color background, trademark position, distance from surrounding symbols and so on. And whether and how to mark the registration mark is also one of the important contents.
Some enterprises have done very well in trademark standardization. Of course, the standardized management of trademark use is a comprehensive work across departments, including trademark design, registration, printing, use, storage, storage, destruction and other links. Sun Wenjing, a student of Intellectual Property College of Shanghai University, observed and analyzed the trademark management of 3M Company, and found that its trademark standardization management experience is of great reference value:
In the introduction of the general trademark protection policy, 3M Company mentioned: "The following trademark standards and policies are usually applicable to all promotional materials produced by 3M Company." According to the information on 3M official website, it clearly regulates the rules for the first use and reuse of trademarks, and the principles that should be followed when mentioning 3M trademarks in news release and oral communication.
Not only that, 3M also took pains to make clear specifications in every detail: use the elements required by law in order; Only when the trademark is registered and allowed by law can it be used? ; Symbol; Use appropriate fonts and positions; If necessary, put the trademark symbol in brackets; Use sentences to associate product trademarks and strategic brands with 3M; Trademark initials and so on.
Standardize the use of one's own trademark
How to use trademarks correctly, including labeling registered trademarks correctly, must first be strict with yourself. The trademark registrant or trademark owner should be responsible for this first. Especially for the company's marketing and advertising planners, if there is no good trademark use standard, when they use trademarks in practical work (such as product advertising design, brochures, personal business cards), trademarks may be fat for a while and thin for a while; One minute it's colored, the other is black and white. This is obviously not conducive to the consistency of trademark identification, and may even lead to the situation of "changing the registered trademark on its own", which violates the mandatory provisions of the Trademark Law.
For the representation of trademark marks (circled "R" or "Note", etc. ), because it is not a legal obligation, many trademark owners give up the right to mark trademarks. However, trademark marking is certainly not unnecessary, but it has strong legal significance of trademark declaration and great commercial value of advertising. Therefore, trademark owners should cherish their trademark rights and actively exercise and strengthen their trademark image.
Strengthen the control of foreign trademarks.
In addition to trademark owners, partners, even upstream suppliers and downstream users should also assume the responsibility of standardizing the use of trademarks. For example, trademark licensors, sales agents, franchisees, partners, advertising designers, advertising publishers, trademark printers and so on. , should be strictly required in trademark use, trademark publicity, trademark design or trademark printing, the correct use of trademark logo and the correct addition of trademark logo, even including under what circumstances the trademark logo can be used or not.
IBM has detailed specifications on how its business partners use the IBM logo, and requires its business partners to abide by these specifications. Many large companies, especially those engaged in franchising, attach great importance to the use of their trademarks by partners and customers.
In fact, many external trademark users simply don't realize what standards or regulations should be followed when using trademark design. When they print related trademarks by themselves, they simply follow their feelings, and even stretch and cut the trademarks at will for the effect of the whole advertisement or promotional materials. Therefore, trademark owners should communicate well with them, make clear norms and conduct effective supervision in order to accurately express and convey their trademark information to the public.