Recently, a boss wanted to give me feedback on the use of unregistered trademarks, but some problems arose later. Today, the editor of Qiying will tell you about the problems of using unregistered trademarks. Everyone is welcome to read.

1. What is an "unregistered trademark"

An unregistered trademark refers to a trademark that has not been registered by the national competent authority and the user does not have the exclusive right to use the trademark. Unregistered trademarks do not enjoy the exclusive right to use trademarks and cannot invoke the Trademark Law for protection.

2. Do goods must use registered trademarks?

Article 6 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates: “For goods that are stipulated by the state to use registered trademarks, they must apply for trademark registration. Without approval, If it is registered, it shall not be sold in the market. ”

Currently, my country’s laws and regulations stipulate that registered trademarks must be used for tobacco products. Article 19 of the newly revised "Tobacco Monopoly Law" stipulates: "Cigarettes, cigars and packaged cut tobacco must apply for trademark registration. Without approval for registration, they are not allowed to be produced or sold. It is prohibited to produce or sell tobacco that counterfeits other people's registered trademarks. "Article 22 of the newly revised "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law" stipulates: "Cigarettes, cigars and packaged tobacco must use registered trademarks."

3. Use of unregistered trademarks. Three risks

1. Not protected by law

Article 3 of the "Trademark Law" stipulates: "Trademarks approved and registered by the Trademark Office are registered trademarks, including commodity trademarks, service trademarks Trademarks, collective trademarks, and certification marks; trademark registrants enjoy exclusive rights to trademarks and are protected by law.”

So the biggest risk for companies using unregistered trademarks is that the trademark cannot be protected by relevant laws. The enterprise does not have exclusive rights to the trademark, and other enterprises can also use the trademark.

For example: The "Dadi" brand tractor produced by Company A is of high quality and low price, and is very popular among consumers. However, Company A did not register the "Dadi" trademark, so other manufacturers began to sell their tractors with the word "Dadi" on them, thus damaging Company A's interests.

2. It is easy to be registered by others

my country's "Trademark Law" stipulates that the exclusive right to trademark can only be obtained through trademark registration, and the principle of first-to-file is adopted, that is, whoever applies for registration first , whoever owns the exclusive right to the trademark.

If a company uses an unregistered trademark, once the trademark is successfully registered by others, the company may no longer be able to use the trademark, and the manpower, material and financial resources previously spent on promoting the trademark will be wasted. .

3. It is easy to infringe on the exclusive rights of others to use trademarks

Using unregistered trademarks is easy to infringe on the exclusive rights of others to use trademarks. If an unregistered trademark used by an enterprise is the same as or similar to someone else's previously registered trademark, it may infringe on the enterprise's trademark exclusive rights, leading to trademark disputes and even litigation between the two parties. If it is ultimately determined that the company has indeed infringed on the exclusive rights of others to use its trademark, it may also compensate others for their economic losses.

4. Trademarks cannot become intangible assets of an enterprise

Intangible assets refer to identifiable non-monetary assets that have no physical form and are owned or controlled by an enterprise. In the field of intellectual property, intangible assets include patent rights and trademark rights.

my country’s Trademark Law stipulates that only successfully registered trademarks are protected by law and can form trademark rights. If an enterprise uses an unregistered trademark, the trademark will not be protected by law, will not be able to form trademark rights, and will not become an intangible asset of the enterprise.

Do you understand now? The risks of using an unregistered trademark are not small. You can never avoid these risks if the trademark is not registered.

4. How to register a trademark safely and quickly

1. Do a trademark search before applying for trademark registration

Trademark similarity search refers to searching based on graphics, text, etc. Conduct a similar search on each of the trademark components to find out whether there are identical or similar previously registered trademarks or previously applied trademarks on the same or similar goods.

Through trademark similarity search, the probability of trademark rejection can be reduced, thereby shortening the trademark registration time.

2. It is best to register a combination trademark separately

A combination trademark refers to any two or more of the six elements of "text, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional logos and colors" A trademark formed by a combination of more than one element.

In my country, combination trademarks are examined through a single examination of each constituent element. The words, letters, graphics and other elements that constitute the combination trademark must ensure that they are not identical or similar to trademarks that have been registered or are being registered by others. to pass the review.

If the combined trademark is not registered separately, once a certain element is similar, the entire trademark will be rejected, which will affect the whole body. For separate registrations, even if one of the trademarks is rejected, it will not affect the other parts of the application.