According to the provisions of the Trademark Law, place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign place names known to the public shall not be used as trademarks. However, exceptions are made where place names have other meanings or are part of collective trademarks or certification marks; registered trademarks using place names will continue to be valid.

The "Trademark Examination Standards" stipulate that administrative divisions above the county level include counties, autonomous counties, county-level cities, and municipal districts at the county level; cities, autonomous prefectures, regions, and leagues at the prefecture level; provinces at the provincial level. , municipalities and autonomous regions; the two special administrative regions, namely Hong Kong and Macau; and Taiwan. The place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level shall be subject to the "Administrative Division Manual of the People's Republic of China" edited and published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of my country. The place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level include the full name, abbreviation, and the pinyin form of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, provincial capitals, cities under separate state planning, and famous tourist cities at or above the county level; foreign place names known to the public refer to the Chinese names known to the public in my country. Place names in other countries and regions. Place names include full name, abbreviation, foreign name and common Chinese translation.

The place name has other meanings, which means that the place name has a definite meaning as a vocabulary and the meaning is stronger than the meaning of the place name and will not mislead the public.

(1) Examination of trademarks containing place names of administrative divisions above the county level

If the trademark consists of place names of administrative divisions or above the county level, or contains place names of administrative divisions above the county level, it shall be determined It is the same as the place name of administrative divisions above the county level in my country. Except for one of the following circumstances:

1. The place name has other meanings and the meaning is stronger than the meaning of the place name.

2. The trademark consists of place names and other words and has distinctive features as a whole, and will not cause the public to misunderstand the origin of the goods.

3. The applicant’s name contains a place name, and the applicant applies for registration of the trademark with its full name.

4. The trademark consists of the abbreviations of two or more place names of administrative divisions, which will not cause the public to misunderstand the origin and other characteristics of the goods. However, if it is likely to cause consumers to misunderstand the origin or service content of the designated goods, it will be judged to have adverse effects and be rejected in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law.

5. The trademark consists of the pinyin form of place names other than provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, provincial capital cities, cities under separate state planning, and famous tourist cities, and the trademark will not cause the public to misunderstand the origin of the goods.

6. Place names serve as components of collective trademarks and certification trademarks.

(2) Examination of trademarks containing foreign place names that are known to the public

If a trademark consists of a foreign place name that is known to the public, or contains a foreign place name that is known to the public, it will be determined to be related to the name of a foreign place that is known to the public. The names of foreign places are the same. However, this is excepted if the trademark consists of a foreign place name and other words known to the public, has other meanings as a whole, and the use of the trademark on the designated goods will not cause the public to misunderstand the origin of the goods.

(3) The text composition of the trademark is different from the place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level in my country or foreign place names known to the public, but the glyphs and pronunciation are similar enough to cause the public to misunderstand the place name, resulting in misidentification of the origin of the goods. , it was determined to have adverse effects and was rejected in accordance with the provisions of the Trademark Law.

(4) If a trademark consists of a place name in my country that is well-known to the public other than the above provisions or contains such a place name, and is used on its designated goods, which will easily cause the public to misunderstand the origin of the goods, it will be determined to be unfair. If there is any impact, the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law shall apply and the application shall be rejected. However, this is excepted if the designated goods have no specific connection with the place or region indicated and will not cause the public to misunderstand the origin of the goods.

(5) If the place name contained in the trademark is independent of other signs with distinctive characteristics, and the place name only serves to truly indicate the location of the applicant, the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law shall not apply.

If the place name contained in the trademark is inconsistent with the location of the applicant, it will easily cause misunderstanding by the public, and will be judged to have adverse effects, and the provisions of the Trademark Law will apply and the trademark will be rejected.

If the applicant is a natural person, the address stated in the resident ID card or passport shall prevail; if the applicant is a legal person or other organization, the address stated in the business license shall prevail.