Everyone knows that trademark registration is risky. When the registered person applies for a trademark, it violates the trademark registration regulations. The Trademark Office will not register it, which is collectively referred to as rejection. Rejection is inevitable. We usually analyze the reasons for rejection and then propose a review. There is still a chance of successful registration.

So, what should you do once your trademark registration fails and is rejected? Do you have to sigh and feel helpless? Of course not! Depending on the situation, your trademark may still be "saved"!

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Today, Bajie will tell you about the reasons why trademarks have been rejected and how to save these failed trademarks. Friends, keep your eyes open, take your seat, and see if your trademark can still be saved!

In fact, there are five main reasons why a trademark is rejected:

1. Others registered first

When conducting the examination, the Trademark Office examiner will first compare the existing trademark information in the Trademark Office database and find trademarks with the same name and the same category. This is based on the first-to-file principle. ?Reject your registered trademark.

Analysis: In fact, many registered companies or individuals are prone to suffer losses in this regard. Relatively speaking, it is recommended to find a professional agency to review and inquire in advance to avoid wasting money.

Big move: It is also based on the first-come-first-served principle. Whoever announces earlier gets first-come-first-served. Another thing to pay attention to is malicious squatting.

In order to prevent malicious preemptive registration, Article 32 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates that applying for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall it be used to preemptively register trademarks already used and used by others by unfair means. A trademark with certain influence. That is to say, when a trademark is rejected due to prior registration by others, if the application date of the announced trademark falls on the same day, or if you suspect that your trademark has been preemptively registered, you can apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review of the prior use right of the trademark.

The key point of proof is: your trademark has been used before and has a certain influence. This is very important.

2. Trademarks that are similar are rejected

The two trademarks are similar in terms of text glyphs, pronunciation, meaning, graphic composition and color, overall structure, three-dimensional shape, and color combination, which may easily confuse the public. If there is misunderstanding or confusion, the trademark will generally be deemed to be similar and rejected.

Analysis: The Trademark Office determines that your trademark is similar to someone else’s, in order to exclude your intentional or unintentional “similarity to a famous brand” and protect the legitimate interests of other people’s trademarks that have been successfully registered before. Usually after professional diagnosis and analysis, the success rate of review is relatively high.

Big Tip: Trademark similarity is determined based on the actual situation, and there is no fixed review standard. Fill in the product category using the trademark according to the "Classification Table of Similar Goods and Services", and the Trademark Office examiner will also Based on the classification table, a preliminary judgment is made on whether the applied trademark constitutes similar goods. Generally speaking, registration of the same or similar trademark in the same category and the same group will be rejected because it constitutes similar goods. However, this is not absolute, so we Please focus on trademark transfer, trademark registration, trademark design, trademark cases, patent copyright, brand consulting and other business intellectual property rights for 14 years to carefully analyze. The probability of successful rejection review is still very high.

3. Trademark names are common names and descriptive words

Names common in the industry and words that only describe product features cannot be registered as trademarks.

For example: hotels, trademarks, beer, etc.

Analysis: If such trademarks can be registered separately, there will be no way to protect the legitimate interests of the trademark because the scope involved is too large. wide, which also violates the original intention of establishing trademark law. Smart people can (name common word = trademark).

Big Tip: Articles 10, 11, and 12 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulate that signs shall not be used as trademarks. However, examiners may also make errors in the judgment of some of these provisions. Condition. After all, our respected auditors are not gods.

If the seventh paragraph of Article 10 is deceptive and may easily cause the public to misunderstand the quality and other characteristics of the goods or the place of origin, the first paragraph of Article 11 shall only be general to the product. Names, graphics, models, etc., these are all areas where disputes can easily arise.

4. The trademark lacks distinctive features

When the trademark applied for is too simple, such as using simple lines or ordinary geometric figures, the examiner will consider that the trademark lacks distinctive features and does not possess the Recognizability, and was dismissed.

Analysis: A registered trademark is to distinguish it from others, so the bottom line of a registered trademark cannot be challenged.

Big trick: This is actually not difficult. As long as you provide evidence that it is different from ordinary marks after long-term use and is distinctive, you can apply for registered trademark protection.

When the examiner rejects a trademark registration application because the trademark lacks distinctive features, the examiner can file for review of the rejection by proving that the applied trademark is distinctive. The distinctiveness of a trademark is not absolute. Whether a trademark has distinctive features depends to a large extent on the circumstances of use.

In practice, some trademarks that originally had no distinctive features enable consumers to identify the source of goods or services through their use, that is, they have developed distinctive features through use. In this case, Trademarks can be registered and protected.

5. Use of signs that are not allowed to be registered

The "Trademark Law" stipulates that several types of trademarks, including the name, national flag and national anthem of the People's Republic of China, cannot be used as trademarks. Among the signs used in trademark registration, place names and names or signs that may easily mislead the public about the quality and origin of the goods cannot be registered as trademarks. If you accidentally use an impermissible sign as a trademark registration, it will be rejected. Registration will not be granted.

Analysis: This is understandable. If you think about it with your toes, you know that you cannot monopolize the country's resources.

Ultimate move: Same as the fourth move. The country is governed by law, and as long as we have evidence to prove it, we can enjoy our legitimate rights and interests.

Is it very clear after passing the above five reasons?

Article 34 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates:? For trademarks that reject applications and refuse to be announced? If the trademark registration applicant is dissatisfied, he may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice. ?That is to say, in terms of procedures, all trademark applications rejected by the Trademark Office can apply for rejection review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and request a new ruling. This is also the legitimate right granted by the Trademark Office to every applicant, and it is very fair. Have a special "confession" with the Trademark Office through review. Trademark rejection