What are the requirements for applying for a well-known trademark? How to identify well-known trademarks? Xiaobian brings you the relevant knowledge of "application conditions for well-known trademarks", which may be what you need.
Application conditions for well-known trademarks
Well-known trademarks are officially recognized by the Trademark Office of China State Administration for Industry and Commerce according to the application of enterprises, which are widely known to the public and enjoy a high reputation in China. The application conditions for well-known trademarks are also very strict. Here, the store summary summarizes the relevant contents about the application conditions for well-known trademarks, hoping to help everyone.
I. well-known trademark identification organs and methods
The identification of well-known trademarks in China is mainly handled by the Trademark Office, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and the court. Mainly through trademark objection cases, trademark infringement disputes in the process of use, trademark disputes and trademark infringement litigation cases.
1. Identification by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce: In the process of trademark use, if the parties think that others use the same or similar trademarks with their registered trademarks on different or dissimilar related goods, they can file an investigation with the industrial and commercial bureaus above the district level and submit the case materials to the case guidance office of the Trademark Office step by step for identification as well-known trademarks. In this case, well-known trademarks are identified through infringement disputes in the process of trademark use. At this time, the accepting organ of the case is the case guidance office of the Trademark Office.
according to the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Provisions on the Recognition and Protection of Well-known Trademarks: "If a party thinks that a trademark preliminarily examined and announced by others violates the provisions of Article 13 of the Trademark Law, it may raise an objection to the Trademark Office in accordance with the provisions of the Trademark Law and its implementing regulations, and submit relevant materials to prove that its trademark is well-known." In this case, well-known trademarks are identified through trademark objection cases. At this time, the accepting organ of the case is the Objection Adjudication Office of the Trademark Office.
2. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce confirms that according to the second paragraph of Article 4 of the Provisions on the Recognition and Protection of Well-known Trademarks: "If a party considers that a registered trademark of another person violates the provisions of Article 13 of the Trademark Law, it may request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to cancel the registered trademark in accordance with the provisions of the Trademark Law and its implementing regulations, and submit relevant materials to prove that its trademark is famous." Such an application for a well-known trademark through a trademark dispute case shall be submitted to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Under normal circumstances, the time for filing such an application is within five years after the infringing trademark is registered.
3. Apply to the court: Except for trademark objections and trademark disputes, other trademark infringement cases can be applied to the court for the recognition of well-known trademarks, and generally only intermediate courts can recognize them.
Identification and special protection of well-known trademarks
Case
Lishi Group International Co., Ltd. is the exclusive owner of the registered trademarks of Nippon Paint "N" and "Nippon Paint" characters and graphics trademarks, and the approved use of the above trademarks includes Class II goods, namely "paints, lacquers and primers". Trademarks such as "Nippon" have been in use since they were registered in 1993. The advertising of related trademarks lasted for a long time, and its advertising scope covered most parts of the country. The advertising cost was hundreds of millions, and the sales volume of products was increasing year by year. Facts show that Nippon paint has enjoyed a high reputation in the hearts of ordinary consumers. Wuhan Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. was established on February 1, 22. When applying for the enterprise name, it applied for spare names "Henkel" and "Haier" in addition to "Nippon". The business scope of Wuhan Nippon Coatings Co., Ltd. includes the production and sales of architectural coatings (latex paints for interior and exterior walls), waterproof coatings for steel structures and decorative waterproof coatings, and its business scope is the same as that of Lishi Group International Co., Ltd.
after the opening of Wuhan nippon coatings co., ltd., the word "nippon" was widely used in product packaging and promotional materials in order to promote its products.
Lishi Group International Co., Ltd. believes that the registered trademark of "Nippon Paint" owned by itself has enjoyed a high reputation in a wider range in China. Wuhan Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. should know about the series of trademarks of "Nippon Paint", which registered the word "Nippon" as the font size part of the enterprise name, and it has obvious "hitchhiking" intention. As both parties produce and sell similar products, the behavior of Wuhan Nippon Coatings Co., Ltd. will cause consumers to confuse and misunderstand the source of goods. Therefore, immediately Group International Co., Ltd. filed a lawsuit in accordance with the law, demanding that the defendant Wuhan Nippon Coatings Co., Ltd. bear the responsibility for trademark infringement.
Question
(1) Do people's courts have the right to identify well-known trademarks?
(2) Does the defendant's behavior constitute trademark infringement?
the answer
(1) is yes.
(2) composition, because the defendant highlighted other people's well-known trademarks as the font size in his own enterprise name, which is easy to mislead consumers.
Analysis
(1) Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law and Article 3 of the Interim Provisions on the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks stipulate that the well-known trademarks are recognized by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. China's law does not explicitly stipulate that the people's court has the right to confirm well-known trademarks, but according to Article 62 of TRIPS Agreement, the court, as a judicial organ, should have the right to confirm well-known trademarks. Trademark right belongs to private right, and the court has the right of examination and final adjudication for disputes over private right. Whether the trademark involved in the infringement dispute is a well-known trademark is the basis for the people's court to correctly handle the trademark infringement dispute, and it is the proper meaning of the court's jurisdiction to determine whether the trademark involved in the lawsuit is a well-known trademark. In fact, there have already been judicial precedents in China where people's courts recognized well-known trademarks. For example, on June 2, 2, the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment on the case that "IKEA" sued Beijing State Grid Information Company for cybersquatting of "IKEA" as an Internet domain name, and confirmed "IKEA9" as a well-known trademark for the first time through judicial judgment, and sentenced the defendant to immediately stop using and cancel the "IKEA" domain name.
(2) composition. Refer to Item 5 of Article 52 of the Trademark Law and Item 1 of Article 1 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Trademark Civil Disputes.
the difficulty in this case is the recognition right of well-known trademarks. From the legal analysis and practice, the people's court should have the right to identify well-known trademarks. In this case, the people's court also comprehensively analyzed the plaintiff's trademark registration time, investment in advertising, time and scope, and the influence of trademarks on consumers, and determined that Nippon series trademarks were well-known trademarks. The provisions of China's trademark law on the scope of protection of well-known trademarks are wider than those of general registered trademarks. According to Articles 8, 9 and 1 of the Interim Provisions on the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks, no one may apply for registration of a trademark identical or similar to another person's well-known trademark on a non-similar commodity, nor may he use words identical or similar to another person's well-known trademark as part of the enterprise name. Otherwise, the well-known trademark owner has the right to request the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the above acts or revoke the enterprise name. Article 13 of the Trademark Law also stipulates the protection of well-known trademarks (including unregistered well-known trademarks). In short, when it comes to the protection of well-known trademarks, we must pay attention to the particularity of protecting well-known trademarks.
However, it should be noted that the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has issued a new Regulation on the Recognition and Protection of Well-known Trademarks, which is based on the revised Trademark Law and the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law. Article 17 of this regulation stipulates that this regulation shall come into force as of June 1, 23. The Interim Provisions on the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks promulgated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on August 14, 1996 shall be abolished at the same time. Therefore, new regulations should be applied to the identification and protection of well-known trademarks in the future. Trademark application well-known trademark