Domestic registered trademarks are different from foreign registered trademarks. Trademarks registered only in China are only protected in China and are not protected in other places.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, natural persons engaged in the production, manufacturing, processing, selection, distribution of goods or provision of services who need to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark shall Apply for trademark registration to the Trademark Office[2]. When handling trademark registration, transfer and other applications in the name of a natural person, in addition to submitting the "Trademark Registration Application", trademark drawings and other materials in accordance with relevant regulations, you should also pay attention to the following matters:

1. Individual industrial and commercial households can use The trade name registered in the "Individual Industrial and Commercial Household Business License" shall be used as the name of the applicant to apply for trademark registration, or the trademark registration application may be filed in the name of the person in charge registered on the license. When applying in the name of the person in charge, copies of the following materials should be submitted:

(1) ID card of the person in charge;

(2) Business license.

2. An individual partnership may file a trademark registration application in the name of the applicant with the trade name registered in its "Business License" or in the registration documents of the relevant competent authority, or in the name of all partners*** File an application for trademark registration at the same time. When applying together in the name of all partners, copies of the following materials should be submitted:

(1) ID card of the partner;

(2) Business license;

(3) Partnership agreement.

3. Rural contract operators can apply for trademark registration in the name of the person who signed the contract. When applying, they should submit copies of the following materials:

(1) Identity of the person signing the contract Certificate;

(2) Contract.

4. Other natural persons who are legally permitted to engage in business activities may apply for trademark registration in the name of the operator listed in the registration document issued by the relevant administrative authority. Copies of the following materials should be submitted when applying. :

(1) ID card of the operator;

(2) Registration document issued by the relevant administrative authority.

5. The scope of goods and services for which a natural person applies for trademark registration shall be limited to the scope of business approved by the natural person in the business license or relevant registration documents, or to the agricultural and sideline products produced by the natural person.

6. For trademark registration applications that do not comply with the provisions of Article 4 of the Trademark Law, the Trademark Office will not accept the application and notify the applicant in writing.

If the applicant provides false materials to obtain trademark registration, the Trademark Office will revoke the registered trademark.

7. When applying for trademark transfer, if the transferee is a natural person, you should refer to the above matters.

Trademark registration application procedure

1. Registration preparation

Select the registration method

One registration method is to go to the National Industrial and Commercial Administration Apply for registration with the Trademark Office of the State Council; another way to register is to entrust an experienced trademark agency to organize agency services.

2. Prepare materials

Prepare 5 trademark drawings (for color trademarks of specified colors, 5 colored drawings and 1 black and white ink drawing should be submitted), the length and width should not be greater than 10 centimeters, not less than 5 centimeters. If the direction of the trademark pattern is unclear, arrows should be used to mark the upper and lower parts; if an individual applies, he or she must present an ID card and submit a copy plus a copy of the individual business license and the business scope must be consistent with the registered trademark; If the application is from an enterprise, a copy of the enterprise's "Business License" must be presented and submitted; a trademark registration application form with the official seal of the unit shall be submitted.

3. Start applying

4. Submit an application according to the classification of goods and services

Goods and services are divided into 45 categories, including 34 categories of goods. , 11 categories of service items. When applying for registration, the category of goods or services for which the trademark is used should be determined according to the classification of the goods and services classification table; if the same applicant uses the same trademark on different categories of goods, he should file registration applications according to different categories.

5. Determination of the filing date

This is the most important point: Since China’s trademark registration adopts the first-to-file principle, once you have a dispute over trademark rights with other companies, the filing date will be determined. Prior companies will be protected by law. Therefore, it is very important to establish the filing date. The filing date shall be the date when the Trademark Office receives the application.

The next step is the three procedures of trademark review, preliminary review announcement, and registration announcement. It should be emphasized that a trademark that has passed the preliminary review by the Trademark Office can be registered only if no one raises objections three months after the announcement. The trademark is protected by law. The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, calculated from the date of approval of registration. If the validity period expires and you need to continue to use it, you can apply for trademark renewal registration.

6. Receive the trademark registration certificate

After the trademark is registered, the Trademark Office issues a certificate to the registrant.

If the agent is organized through an agency, the agent will send the "Trademark Registration Certificate" to the registrant; if the registration is done directly, the registrant should arrive at the registrant within three months after receiving the "Notice of Collecting the Trademark Registration Certificate" When collecting the certificate from the Trademark Office, you should also bring: a letter of introduction for obtaining the trademark registration certificate, the ID card of the person receiving the certificate and its copy, the original copy of the business license and a copy stamped with the seal of the local industrial and commercial department, the notice for obtaining the trademark registration certificate, the trademark If the name of the registrant is changed, a change certificate issued by the industrial and commercial department must be attached.

Note: It usually takes about one to three and a half years from application to issuance of a newly applied trademark, of which application acceptance and formal review takes about one month, and substantive review takes about 24 to 30 months. , the objection period is three months, and it takes about two months from the approval announcement to the issuance of the certificate.

7. Instructions for trademark registration application

If a natural person, legal person or other organization needs to obtain the exclusive right to trademark for the goods or services it produces, manufactures, processes, selects or distributes, A trademark registration application must be submitted to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Office) in accordance with the law. In the narrow sense, trademark registration applications only refer to goods and service trademark registration applications, international trademark registration applications, certification trademark registration applications, collective trademark registration applications, and special sign registration applications. In addition to the content of trademark registration applications in the narrow sense, trademark registration applications in the broad sense also include applications for change, renewal, transfer registration, objection applications, trademark license contract filing applications, and the handling of other trademark registration matters.