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How to check whether a company name can be trademarked?

How do you check to know whether a company's name can be registered as a trademark? You will understand after reading the editor's guide on how to check whether a company's name can be registered as a trademark! Share the article with everyone, welcome Reading, for reference only! How to check whether a company name is registered as a trademark? How to check whether a trademark is registered online

1. The trademark query method is relatively complicated. Today we will introduce the basic steps of online query. At the same time, we You can also entrust a search through a trademark office.

2. First, we enter the China Trademark Network. The official provides four services: trademark similarity query, trademark comprehensive query, trademark status query, and error message feedback.

3. We click to enter the comprehensive trademark query: users can query relevant information about a certain trademark by trademark number, trademark, applicant name, etc.

4. It provides 5 query methods: international classification number, registration number, trademark name, applicant name (Chinese and English). For querying whether to register, we only need to use? Product name? Just come.

5. Let's search for "Baidu" as an example. Enter Baidu in the trademark name and click Query

6. If there are results in the query, it means that the trademark has been registered. Then you can only change a trademark

7. If the query is found? Sorry! No results were found?, then congratulations, the trademark has not been registered yet, go and register quickly. Information required to register a trademark

1. If you apply for registration under the name of a company, you need to provide a copy of the business license, and the official seal needs to be stamped on the copy of the business license;

2. If you apply for registration under an individual name, you need to provide A copy of the personal ID card and a copy of the business license of the individual industrial and commercial household. The copy of the business license of the individual industrial and commercial household must be stamped with the official seal;

3. Provide trademark text or patterns, and if the color needs to be protected, also Color drawings are required;

4. Provide the goods/services to be registered, which can be based on the applicant's own goods or services provided, with reference to the "International Classification of Goods and Services for Trademark Registration" (Nice Classification) )9th edition and the "Classification Table of Similar Goods and Services" modified by the Trademark Office based on the above-mentioned international classification table;

5. Provide a "Trademark Agency Power of Attorney" with an official seal or signature. The letter can be obtained from this website; especially note that the address on the "Trademark Agency Power of Attorney" should be exactly the same as the registered address on the business license. Trademark Registration Process

Trademark Registration Process 1. Formal Review

After formal review, the application procedures are complete and the application documents are filled in as required, the Trademark Office will issue an acceptance notice.

If the application procedures are incomplete or the application documents are not filled in as required, a notice of rejection will be issued and returned, and the application date will not be retained.

If the application procedures are basically complete or the application documents basically comply with the regulations, but if supplements and corrections are needed, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of supplements and corrections to the trademark registration application. If the applicant makes corrections within the time limit and returns it to the Trademark Office, the application date will be retained; if the applicant fails to make corrections or makes corrections beyond the time limit, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of rejection and return it, and the application date will not be retained.

Trademark registration process 2. Substantive examination

After passing the formal examination, the trademark application enters the substantive examination. After substantive examination, any trademark application that complies with the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law will be initially reviewed and approved by the Trademark Office and announced.

If the application is rejected, a rejection notice will be issued to the applicant.

If the Trademark Office believes that the contents of the trademark registration application can be revised, it will issue an examination opinion. If the applicant responds within the time limit, the Trademark Office will continue the examination.

For trademarks that have been preliminarily approved after review, the China Trademark Office will announce them in the "Trademark Announcement".

Within three months from the date of announcement, anyone can object to a trademark initially approved by the China Trademark Office.

If there is no objection or the objection is ruled not to be established, the China Trademark Office will approve the registration, issue a trademark registration certificate, and announce it in the "Trademark Announcement"; if the objection is ruled to be true, the registration will not be approved.

Request for review

If the applicant is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office’s rejection of the trademark registration application during the trademark registration process, he or she may request a review from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a final decision on whether to grant registration or not, and notify the applicant in writing. If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office's objection ruling, he or she may request a review from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a final decision and notify the parties in writing. 45 Trademark Design Principles

The trademark pattern design principles summarized by foreign designer Tanner Christensen from some of the world's most famous LOGO designs include colors, lines, layout, etc.

1. Do not use more than 3 colors.

2. If the content is not indispensable, there is no need to display it.

3. The font must be clear and legible so that your grandma can understand it.

4. The trademark pattern must be easy to identify.

5. Design a trademark pattern with a unique shape or layout.

6. Think independently and ignore what your parents and loved ones think about you.

7. Make sure the trademark pattern looks like it can attract the attention of at least three people.

8. Do not incorporate elements from popular trademarks into the design and call it an original work.

9. Do not use clip art under any circumstances.

10. When the trademark pattern is set to black and white, it still looks good.

11. The trademark pattern is still clear and legible after being reversed.

12. The trademark pattern remains clear and legible after adjusting its size.

13. If the trademark pattern contains elements such as icons, symbols or text, arrange them reasonably so that they complement each other.

14. Avoid following the latest popular logo design trends and make your design look timeless.

15. Do not use special effects (including but not limited to: italics, shadows, reflections and rays).

16. If possible, make the logo appear in a square layout and avoid using a layout that is difficult to understand.

17. Avoid complicated details.

18. Consider different places and ways to place your trademark.

19. Inspire feelings of bravery and confidence rather than feelings of inadequacy and inertia.

20. You should know that the logo pattern you create is never perfect.

21. Use sharp lines for smart business and soft lines for gentle business.

22. The trademark pattern must be related to the theme it expresses.

23. Photos cannot be used as trademark patterns.

24. You want customers to feel amazing about your design.

25. Don’t use more than 2 fonts.

26. Every element in the trademark should be arranged in an orderly manner. Left, center, right, top or bottom.

27. The icon looks seamless and has no trailing elements.

28. Before you conceive and design a trademark, you must clearly understand the group that the trademark will target.

29. Emphasize functionality over innovation.

30. If the trademark name is impressive, then use the trademark name as the trademark pattern.

31. The trademark pattern is still clearly visible after mirroring.

32. Even big companies need small patterns.

33. The trademark pattern should be liked by everyone, not just the merchant.

34. Create change. The more variations there are, the more appropriate your logo design will be.

35. The logo pattern looks consistent on multiple platforms.

36. The trademark image must be easily described.

37. Do not use iconic language in the trademark pattern.

38. Draw ideas on paper with pencil before designing on the computer.

39. Simple design.

40. Do not use the "whoosh" or "globe" symbols.

41. Trademark patterns cannot distract attention.

42. The design content should be faithfully represented in the design.

43. The trademark pattern should be visually balanced.

44. Avoid using bright, neon colors and dull, dull colors.

45. Trademark design cannot break any of the above principles. How to prevent the generalization of trademarks?

1. Regulations on common names

1. When registering a trademark: only the common name of the product shall not be registered as a trademark. (Article 11 of the Trademark Law)

2. After trademark registration: The registered trademark becomes the common name of the goods it has approved, and anyone can apply for revocation. (Trademark Law, Article 49, Paragraph 2)

3. After trademark registration: The registered trademark contains the common name of the product, and the right holder has no right to prohibit others from using it properly. (Article 59, Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law)

II. Legal Judgment on Trademark Generalization

1. Time Node (Several Issues of the Supreme People’s Court on the Trial of Administrative Cases concerning Trademark Authorization and Confirmation) Opinion Article 8)

(1) Trademark registration procedure: The people's court reviews and determines whether the trademark in dispute is a common name, generally based on the factual status when the trademark registration application is filed. If the trademark in question is not a common name at the time of application, but has become a common name when the registration is approved, it should still be deemed to be a common name for the product; (2) Trademark cancellation procedure: In the Yinjun Mei case, the Beijing High Court, Breaking through the actual situation when the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board ruled, it ruled that the Yinjunmei trademark constituted a generic name and its registration violated the provisions of the Trademark Law. (3) Trademark infringement litigation: Since it does not involve the review of whether the trademark can be registered or revoked, the time point for judgment is whether the trademark has become a common name when the infringement occurs; there is no need to comply with the provisions of Article 8 of the Judicial Interpretation.

2. Judgment standards (Article 7 of the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases of Trademark Authorization and Confirmation)

For the judgment of common names in trademark infringement litigation, refer to Trademark Administration The judgment standard of the procedure is that when judging whether the disputed trademark is a common name, it should be examined whether it is a statutory or conventional trade name. (1) If it is a common name of a commodity according to legal provisions or national standards or industry standards, it shall be recognized as a common name. (2) If the relevant public generally believes that a certain name can refer to a category of goods, it should be recognized as a common name by convention. Conventional common names are generally judged based on the common understanding of the relevant public across the country. (3) If it is listed as a trade name in professional reference books and dictionaries, it can be used as a reference for determining the conventional common name. (4) For products whose relevant markets are relatively fixed due to historical traditions, customs, geographical environment and other reasons, the common names in the relevant markets can be recognized as common names.

3. Judicial Practice

Sina Paike Trademark Infringement Case: The court held that perhaps when the plaintiff registered the term "Paike", the term had a certain degree of distinctiveness, but the The term is not the original creation of the plaintiff, but the crystallization of the wisdom of netizens. Since netizens generally use this term, the distinctiveness of the trademark of this term has been significantly weakened. It can be concluded that "Paike" has become a general term, and others use the term "Paike" within a general scope. , rather than being used as a trademark and causing no confusion among the relevant public, it should not be considered as infringement of trademark rights.

Yinjunmei Trademark Administrative Case: The Beijing High Court held that the relevant evidence provided by Zhengshan Tea Company and Tongmu Tea Company was sufficient to prove that when the ruling No. 53056 was made, Yinjunmei had been trademarked as a trademark. The trade name of a kind of black tea is recognized and treated by the relevant public and becomes the customary common name of a specific type of black tea product. Therefore, based on the actual situation when Ruling No. 53056 was made, it should be determined that the application for registration of the opposed trademark violated the provisions of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item (1) of the Trademark Law.

USB flash drive trademark revocation case: The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board believes that, judging from the meaning of the disputed trademark "USB flash drive" Chinese character itself, it has certain characteristics such as quality, function, use and other characteristics of designated Class 9 computer memories and other goods. Direct narrative and lack of distinctive features that a trademark should have.

Netac itself has also been using "USB Flash Drive" as a product name, which objectively further dilutes or even eliminates the distinctive feature of "USB Flash Drive" as a trademark. At the same time, many operators and consumers in the same industry have generally used "USB flash drive" as a common product name for a new type of computer removable memory. Therefore, it can be concluded that the disputed trademark has become the common name of its designated product: computer memory.

4. How to prevent the generalization of trademarks?

1. Choose a distinctive logo

If the meaning of the trademark is consistent with the characteristics and uses of the goods it refers to, are closely related, and if used improperly, can easily become a common name for a product. Moreover, a trademark that is not highly distinctive can easily be used by others on their own goods using the defense of fair use. Therefore, when applying for registration, you should choose a trademark with strong distinctiveness to prevent it from being diluted.

2. Use registered trademarks correctly.

(1) The right holder shall use the registered trademark correctly and in the sense of using it as a trademark. For example, in the USB flash drive case, USB flash drive became a common name because Netac Corporation improperly used USB flash drive as a trade name. (2) When launching a trademark and a new product at the same time, be sure to correctly distinguish the product name and trademark. Because at the beginning of the launch of new products, it is easy to use trademarks to name goods, which leads to the gradual generalization of trademarks. (3) Rights holders should especially prevent trademarks from being included in national standards, industry standards, reference books, dictionaries and other documents as trade names. This type of situation is particularly prominent in cases where drug names and trademarks conflict.

3. Implement proactive rights protection actions

If the rights holder discovers that others are using his registered trademark as a trade name or other descriptive description, he should promptly initiate rights protection actions and request an immediate stop. Inappropriate use behavior, even publishing newspaper and magazine announcements. Rights holders must defend their rights in a timely manner to avoid losing their rights’ remedies. Further indulgence in others' unfair use will lead to the universality of trademarks becoming a fait accompli, and by then it will be too late to make amends. Just like the case of "Pak customer" and "U disk case".