The owner of a registered trademark transfers his registered trademark to others within the scope permitted by law; or an enterprise should go through the procedures for transferring a registered trademark due to merger, separation or merger. Trademark transfer is an act by which a trademark registrant transfers the exclusive right to use a trademark to another party in accordance with legal procedures during the validity period of the registered trademark. What are the problems at each stage of trademark transfer? What should we pay attention to?

1. What materials are required for trademark transfer?

1. If the transferor or transferee is a citizen, the original and a copy of the "Resident Identity Card" should be submitted;

2. If the transferor or transferee is a corporate legal person, The original or copy of the "Enterprise Legal Person Business License", the original and a copy of the "Organization Code Certificate", the original and a copy of the legal representative's qualification certificate, and the "Resident Status" of the legal representative should be submitted. The original and a copy of the certificate and a letter of introduction from the unit;

3. If the transferor or transferee is another organization, the relevant subject qualification certificate and the original identity certificate of the person in charge and the letter of introduction from the unit should be submitted ;

4. If the transferor or transferee is a joint-stock enterprise, the company's articles of association and the original resolution of the shareholders' meeting approving the transfer or transfer of the right to use the trademark should be submitted;

5. The original and copy of the registered trademark certificate, trademark ownership certificate and trademark pattern;

6. If entrusting others to handle the matter, provide a valid "Power of Attorney" and the trustee's ID card.

2. Precautions for trademark transfer:

1. If you want to transfer a registered trademark to another person, you should go to the Trademark Office or entrust a nationally recognized trademark agency to go through the transfer procedures of the registered trademark. .

2. If the exclusive right to use a trademark is transferred due to a business merger, merger or restructuring, the registered trademark transfer procedures should be handled at the Trademark Office.

3. If the exclusive right to use a trademark is transferred in accordance with a court decision, the transfer procedures must also be completed.

4. When a registered trademark is transferred, the trademark registrant shall transfer the same or similar trademark registered on the same or similar goods together.

3. When signing a trademark transfer contract and a trademark use license contract, you should generally pay attention to the following issues:

1. The transferee of the trademark transfer contract and the defendant of the trademark use contract There are certain restrictions on the entity of the licensor. The transferees of the trademark rights transfer contract and the licensees of the trademark use license are limited to enterprises, public institutions, social groups, individual industrial and commercial households, partnerships, and foreigners or foreign enterprises.

2. The trademark rights transfer contract and the trademark use license are both essential contracts. The transferor and transferee of a registered trademark must submit an application to the Trademark Office at the same time, and attach a copy of the "Trademark Registration Certificate", a copy of the registered trademark transfer contract and its relevant documents. After the transfer of the registered trademark is approved, The original "Trademark Registration Certificate" and the certification document approved by the Trademark Office for the transfer will be issued to the transferee and announced in the "Trademark Announcement". If a trademark is licensed for use, the licensor and the licensee shall, within 3 months from the date of signing the license contract, submit a copy of the license contract to the county-level industrial and commercial administration authority where they are located for review, and the licensor shall submit it to the Trademark Office for record, and It shall be announced by the Trademark Office.

3. Trademark transfer is subject to the condition that the public will not misunderstand, confuse or have other adverse effects. The transfer of trademark rights means that the trademark is separated from the enterprise. In some cases, it may cause misunderstanding by the public, because in the public's impression, the trademark is associated with a specific enterprise that provides certain goods or services, which may cause confusion. If an application for transfer of a registered trademark is misunderstood, confused or has other adverse effects, the Trademark Office will not approve and reject the application.

4. When a trademark owner transfers its registered trademark, it shall transfer it to the same transferee together with other identical or similar trademarks registered on the same or similar goods or services. This is to prevent confusion and consumer misunderstanding when different producers or service providers use the same trademark on the same type of goods or services.

5. The contract should have mandatory statutory provisions.

Trademark rights transfer contracts and trademark use license contracts should generally include the following main contents:

(1) Names, addresses, signing dates and places of both parties, etc.; (2) Trademark name, pattern, country, Registration number, the category and name of the goods or services approved for use by the registered trademark; (3) The status of the existing registered trademark use license; (4) Price and payment method; (5) The transferee or licensee’s guarantee of product quality Agreement; (6) Conditions and procedures for contract suspension and cancellation; (7) Liability for breach of contract; (8) Application of law and resolution of disputes. The trademark license contract should also specify the scope of authorized use, the territory and time for which the trademark is permitted to be used, as well as trademark renewal procedures and other procedures to ensure the effectiveness of trademark registration.

4. How long does it take to transfer a trademark?

1. The Trademark Office will issue a "Certificate of Approval of Transfer of Registered Trademark" within fifteen days after receiving the transfer application.

2. The "Certificate of Approval of Transfer of Registered Trademark" can be received six to eight months from the date of establishment of the application. This certificate must be used together with the original "Trademark Registration Certificate".

This certificate must be used together with the original "Trademark Registration Certificate".

3. The date marked on the "Certificate of Approval of Transfer of Registered Trademark" is the effective date of transfer registration. You can use it after receiving the "Certificate of Approval of Transfer of Registered Trademark".

In general, trademark transfer takes about 6-10 months.

5. When performing the trademark transfer contract and the trademark license contract, the following legal issues should be paid attention to:

1. After the contract takes effect, the transferor of the trademark transfer contract shall Within the territory where the trademark registration is valid, the transferred trademark may no longer be used on the goods or services approved for use with the transferred trademark, or on similar goods and services, otherwise it will infringe the transferee's trademark rights. If the transferor wants to continue to use it, it must sign a trademark license contract with the transferee and obtain the transferee's authorization.

2. The date when the transfer of a registered trademark is published in the trademark announcement is the starting date for the transferee to enjoy the exclusive right to use the trademark. The registered trademark after the transfer is valid from that date to the expiration date of the registered trademark. .

3. In the trademark use license, the licensor shall supervise the quality of the goods used by the licensee to use its registered trademark. The licensee shall ensure the quality of the goods using the registered trademark. The licensee shall use the goods of others with permission. If a trademark is registered, the name of the licensee and the origin of the goods must be indicated on the goods using the registered trademark. If the licensee violates statutory or agreed quality assurance obligations, the licensor has the right to suspend or terminate the trademark license contract.

4. The licensee shall not allow any other third party to use the registered trademark unless expressly authorized by the trademark owner.

5. The licensor shall ensure the validity of the registered trademark during the validity period of the trademark license contract. If the validity period of the registered trademark expires, the licensor shall go through the renewal procedures in a timely manner. The licensor should also comply with the provisions of the Trademark Law when using the registered trademark himself to avoid the registered trademark being revoked by the Trademark Office due to improper use.

6. What are the precautions after trademark transfer?

1. During the validity period of the trademark, there is no need to pay any fees to any organization or individual. Within six months before the trademark expires, you can apply to the Trademark Office for renewal by yourself or by entrusting another trademark business unit to do so. After the renewal is successful, the validity period of the trademark will be extended for another ten years. Likewise, within ten years, there is no need to pay any fees to any organization or individual.

2. Please keep evidence of the use of the trademark. In order to avoid unnecessary disputes if it has not been used for three years, please keep relevant evidence of use. There are several main types of evidence of trademark use that are currently common:

(1) Large-scale advertising of a trademark is direct and powerful evidence of the use of the trademark, such as through newspapers, magazines, television, radio, etc. Advertising media for commercial promotion.

(2) If you license others to use a trademark, the actual use by the licensee shall be deemed as the use of the trademark, but the registrant shall provide the above-mentioned proof of use and trademark use license contract to the Trademark Office.

(3) If the trademark is attached to the goods or their packaging or wrapping in the country solely for the purpose of export, it will also be regarded as the use of the trademark in the country.

3. Please keep the original registration certificate and the transfer approval certificate properly. If you accidentally lose any of them, you can promptly apply to the Trademark Office for a reissue of the registration certificate by yourself or by entrusting another trademark business unit to do so;

4. If the address and name of the current trademark holder changes, please submit a change application to the Trademark Office in a timely manner. You can handle the business yourself or entrust another trademark business unit to handle the business.

7. There are 5 issues that require special attention:

1. Is the trademark legal and valid?

According to the provisions of my country’s Trademark Law, a registered trademark The validity period is ten years from the date of obtaining the registration announcement. It can be renewed upon expiration. Failure to renew after the expiry date will be considered as giving up. At the same time, during the validity period of the trademark, you may also face situations such as "revocation if not used for three consecutive years", "declaration of invalidity as a common name", "inaccurate trademark registration matters", etc. Therefore, before transferring a trademark, the transferee must keep a sharp eye to see whether the transferred trademark is a valid registered trademark. To check whether a trademark is valid, you can directly log on to the official website of the Trademark Office to check, or you can entrust a professional trademark agency such as Zhongxiruan to provide you with more thorough and faster query services.

2. Is there any flaw in the quality of the trademark?

Generally speaking, registered trademarks will basically not violate the "Trademark Law", and most of the trademarks themselves will not. Issues that are easily confused or have adverse effects. However, with the development and changes of the times, the types of goods (or services) are iteratively updated, and popular languages ??change. Some trademarks will become common names such as "Haitao", and some words that were originally used normally have derived new bad meanings such as "Heaven and Earth". "Transferees of trademarks with potential quality risks of this kind must carefully identify them. During the trademark transfer process, the Trademark Office will also review the transferred trademark. If any adverse effects are found, the trademark may be canceled immediately.

3. Similar trademarks must not be omitted

In the transfer of trademarks stipulated in the Trademark Law, similar trademarks of the same registrant shall be transferred together. The rigid provisions of this law are to prevent market chaos from causing inconvenience to consumers, and the transferee should be clearly informed. In order to protect a certain trademark, some merchants register many similar trademarks. When the trademark is transferred, the transfer fee will be greatly increased and the transfer procedure will be more complicated. Therefore, for large-scale trademark agency projects, look for professional companies like Zhongxiruan It is more efficient and worry-free for a trademark agency to take full responsibility.

4. Sign a transfer agreement

The trademark transfer agreement signed by the transferor and the transferee shall comply with the provisions of the "Contract Law" and shall not include any economic activities during the transfer process such as transfer fees. , whether to transfer the management rights and other issues should be agreed in advance. At the same time, it takes 3 to 5 months for the Trademark Office to process a trademark transfer, and the approval of the transferred registered trademark must be announced before the transferee can enjoy the exclusive rights to the trademark. Therefore, from the signing of the transfer agreement to the final transfer of the exclusive rights to the trademark, both parties should also agree on the ownership of the trademark rights in advance in the agreement.

5. Trademarks are not allowed to be transferred by oneself

Trademark transfer must be submitted to the Trademark Office by both parties. The application must be approved by the Trademark Office, otherwise both parties will face the risk of being punished and may even have their trademarks cancelled. At the same time, the risks faced by the transferee mentioned above can be resolved one by one through the Trademark Office. Invalid trademarks, trademarks with hidden dangers, and trademarks with problematic registration matters cannot escape the sharp eyes of the Trademark Office. The approach may seem harsh and cumbersome, but in fact it reduces the risks borne by the transferee.