"Similar trademark" in civil law is not equal to "identical trademark" in criminal law. Using a trademark that is similar to someone else's trademark on the same product does not constitute the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark, so it cannot be said to be fake. .

Similar trademark infringement is a common infringement pattern. The perpetrator uses a trademark that is similar to another person's trademark on the same or similar goods, causing confusion to the public, and it is an infringement of other people's trademark rights.

In addition to assuming liability for civil infringement in accordance with the law, in the practice of combating intellectual property crime cases, there are also case-handling agencies accusing the above-mentioned similar trademark infringements of constituting the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks.

What is the standard method for determining the similarity of trademarks

(1) Chinese trademarks have the same composition of Chinese characters, but only have different fonts or designs, phonetic notation, and arrangement order, which may easily cause the relevant public to have doubts about the goods or products. If the source of the service is misunderstood, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

(2) If a trademark consists of the same foreign characters, letters or numbers, but is only different in font or design, which is likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

Except for one of the following circumstances:

1. The trademark consists of one or two foreign letters in non-ordinary fonts, which have no meaning and have obviously different fonts, making the overall trademark distinctive. It is obvious that it is difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

2. The trademark consists of three or more foreign letters, in different order, with obviously different pronunciation or glyphs, no meaning or different meanings, making the overall distinction of the trademark obvious and making it difficult for the relevant public to have a negative impression of the goods or services. misidentification of the source.

(3) If a trademark consists of two foreign words, only the order of the words is different, and there is no obvious difference in meaning, which is likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

(4) The Chinese trademark consists of three or more Chinese characters, and only some of the Chinese characters are different, and the whole has no meaning or no obvious difference in meaning, which is likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services. , determined to be similar trademarks.

Except for cases where the pronunciation or font shape of the first character is obviously different, or the overall meaning is different, making the trademark distinct as a whole and making it difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

(5) The foreign language trademark consists of four or more letters, and only individual letters are different, and the whole has no meaning or no obvious difference in meaning, which is likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services. , determined to be similar trademarks.

Except for cases where the pronunciation and font shape of the initial letters are obviously different, or the overall meaning is different, making the overall trademark distinct, and making it difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

(6) If the characters and shapes of trademarks are similar and may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, they shall be determined to be similar trademarks.

(7) If the pronunciation of the trademark words is the same or similar, and the glyph or overall appearance is similar, which is likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

Except for cases where the meaning, font shape or overall appearance are obviously different, making it difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

(8) If the words of a trademark have the same or similar meaning and are likely to cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, they will be determined to be similar trademarks.

(9) If the trademark text consists of overlapping words, which may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

(10) Foreign language trademarks only undergo changes in form such as singular and plural, gerund, abbreviation, addition of article, comparative or superlative, part of speech, etc., but the meaning of the expression is basically the same, which is easy for the relevant public to If there is a misunderstanding about the source of the goods or services, the trademarks will be determined to be similar.

(11) If a trademark is the addition of the common name and model of the product to someone else's prior trademark, which may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the product or service, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

(12) If a trademark is added to someone else’s prior trademark with certain words indicating the place where the goods are produced, sold or used, which may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, the judgment shall be determined. are similar trademarks.

(13) A trademark is the addition of words that directly indicate the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the goods to someone else’s prior trademark, which can easily cause the relevant public to have a negative impression of the goods or products. If the source of the service is misunderstood, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

(14) A trademark is a modified adjective or adverb added to someone else’s earlier trademark, as well as other words with weak distinctiveness in the trademark. The meaning expressed is basically the same, and it is easy to make related If the public misunderstands the source of a product or service, it will be determined to be a similar trademark.

Except if the meaning or overall difference is obvious and it is difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

(15) If two trademarks or one of them consists of two or more relatively independent parts, the significant parts of which are similar, which may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, determined to be similar trademarks.

However, exceptions are made where the overall meaning is clearly different and it is difficult for the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the goods or services.

(16) If the trademark completely includes another person’s previously well-known or distinctive word trademark, which is likely to cause the relevant public to believe that it belongs to a series of trademarks and misidentify the source of the goods or services, determined to be similar trademarks.

Legal Basis

"Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Trademark Dispute Cases"

Article 10 The People's Court shall, in accordance with Article 5 of the Trademark Law According to the provisions of Article 17 (1) (2), the determination of trademarks as identical or similar shall be based on the following principles:

(1) Based on the general attention of the relevant public;

(2) It is necessary to compare the trademark as a whole as well as the main parts of the trademark. The comparison should be conducted separately with the comparison objects isolated;

(3) Judgment Whether the trademarks are similar or not, the distinctiveness and popularity of the registered trademark requested for protection should be considered.