1. Principles of use of trademark rights

(1) Principles of use. The ownership of trademark rights is determined based on the order of use of the trademark, that is, whoever uses the trademark first will own the trademark rights of this trademark, and can fight against the person who used the trademark later on the grounds of "first use" and request the cancellation of his or her registered trademark. . Adopting this principle confirms that the acquisition of trademark rights is beneficial to the person who uses it first, but is not beneficial to the owner of the registered trademark who uses it later. This approach will make the registered trademark unstable for a long time, which is not only detrimental to trademark management, but also difficult to find out who was the first user once a dispute occurs, which is not conducive to the settlement of disputes. Therefore, there are currently very few countries in the world that adopt this acquisition principle.

(2) Registration principles. The ownership of trademark rights is determined based on the order of application for registration, that is, whoever applies for registration first will be granted the trademark right. According to this principle, only if the trademark is approved and registered by the Trademark Office, the trademark applicant can obtain trademark rights.

Trademark registration is a legal fact. Once a trademark owner obtains trademark rights through registration, it is protected by national law, and unregistered trademarks are not protected by law. According to this principle, if the first person to use a trademark does not apply for registration in time and is preempted by others to register it, he or she will not be able to sue the already used trademark. Obtain trademark rights. Therefore, most countries, including my country, now adopt the principle of trademark registration. Adopting the registration principle to determine the ownership of trademark rights does not exclude the significance of the use principle under specific conditions.

(3) Mixing principle. This is a compromise between the use principle and the registration principle. According to this principle, as long as an enterprise or a person first uses a certain trademark, even if it is not registered, it can fight against the same or similar registered trademark of others on the grounds of prior use within a specified period. If such a confrontation is established, the registered trademark will be revoked. If the confrontation cannot be established, the trademark registrant has obtained irrefutable and stable exclusive rights to the trademark. This principle is adopted by some countries. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain all stipulate this, but the periods are different. The United Kingdom stipulates 7 years, the United States stipulates 5 years, and Spain stipulates 3 years.

2. How to obtain trademark rights

The acquisition of trademark rights means that a specific person (including natural persons and legal persons) applies for a trademark in accordance with the law and has it approved and registered by the Trademark Office. That is to obtain trademark rights. The acquisition of trademark rights is the creation of legal relationships with trademark rights. As intangible property rights are the same as tangible property rights, their acquisition methods can be divided into original acquisition and transmission (also known as inheritance) acquisition according to their different sources. The main difference between these two acquisition methods is whether the acquisition of trademark rights is based on the trademark rights and will of the original trademark owner.

(1) Original acquisition

Original acquisition is also called direct acquisition, that is, the trademark right is obtained directly based on legal provisions, meeting legal conditions and approved by the trademark authority. This kind of right is acquired initially and is not based on the trademark rights and will of the original trademark owner.

(2) Acquisition by transfer

Acquisition by transfer, also known as inheritance, means that the trademark right is not acquired initially, but is acquired by the original trademark owner. Based on the will of the trademark owner, the transfer of trademark rights can be achieved through certain legal facts. There are two ways to acquire the trademark by transfer: one is according to the transfer contract, the transferee obtains the trademark right from the transferor with or without compensation; the second way is according to the inheritance procedure, the trademark of the decedent who has died is the legal heir. right.

3. Types of fair use of the latest trademark rights

1. Narrative fair use;

2. Indicative fair use;

3. Illustrative and reasonable use.

Legal basis:

Article 18 of the "Trademark Law" stipulates that two or more applicants have the same or similar trademarks on the same trademark or similar goods. If you apply for registration, the trademark that was applied for first will be preliminarily reviewed and announced; if you apply on the same day, the trademark that was previously used will be preliminarily reviewed and announced, and other people's applications will be rejected and will not be announced.