1. What are the behaviors of malicious trademark squatting? The behaviors of malicious trademark squatting include: the applicant applies for a trademark that has been used by others as his own trademark; the applicant for trademark registration uses unreasonable or illegal reasons. If you untruthfully fill in the relevant matters in the trademark registration application and the relevant materials provided, both cases will be deemed as bad faith trademark registration, which is an act punishable by law. 2. What is malicious trademark squatting? "Malicious squatting" refers to using unfair means to preemptively register a trademark, domain name or trade name that has been used by others and has a certain influence in this field or related fields for the purpose of profit, etc. rights-related behavior. "Malicious registration" mostly occurs in rights fields where the "first to apply" principle of authorization can bring certain economic or spiritual benefits, so it mostly occurs in trademarks, domain names and trade names. Regarding "malicious registration of trademarks", Article 32 of the Trademark Law stipulates: "You shall not use unfair means to preemptively register a trademark that is already used by others and has a certain influence." Therefore, "malicious registration" refers to the applicant's behavior of using unreasonable or illegal methods to apply to the Trademark Office for registration of a trademark that has been used by others but has not yet been registered. 3. How to determine malicious registration? The so-called "malicious registration" is just a popular term for people. According to the current provisions of Article 31 of the Trademark Law, "it is not allowed to use unfair means to preemptively register others who have already used it and have certain influence." trademark". Therefore, "malicious registration" means that the applicant uses unreasonable or illegal methods to apply to the Trademark Office for registration of a trademark that has been used by others but has not yet been registered. The elements that constitute "malicious registration" are as follows: (1) The applicant seeks unfair benefits, which is a subjective element. The applicant applies for a trademark that has been used by others as his own. This is a subjective element. This behavior itself has already misappropriated the fruits of others' labor. If the registration is successful, it is tantamount to stealing in a legal way. What is even more serious is that once the registration is successful, the "malicious squatter" applicant will use his right to occupy the registered trademark to prohibit others from using the trademark that originally belonged to him or use his right to dispose of the registered trademark. Transfer or license the use of the trademark at a high price. If these purposes cannot be achieved, an infringement lawsuit will be filed or reported to the industrial and commercial administration and demanded compensation. The practical question is, how to determine the establishment of this subjective requirement? It is impossible for us to penetrate deeply into the inner world of the applicant to understand whether their subjective desire is for improper interests. We can only analyze his essence through phenomena. What phenomena can be analyzed? First, it depends on whether he uses it himself after successful registration, that is, on his own products. Whether the product is the same or similar to the product of the person who was squatted; second, whether he is interested in the product of the person who was squatted. transfer or license the use of the trademark at a high price; third, whether to directly accuse the registered person of infringement and make a claim for compensation. Through the analysis of these aspects, if the "squatting" applicant registers a trademark not mainly for his own use, or even does not own a product, and then transfers it at a high price or makes a compensation request to the person who was squatted, we can accurately determine his subjective purpose , just to seek improper benefits. (2) The applicant has adopted unfair means. This is the behavioral element. Unfair means means that the trademark registration applicant has untruthfully filled in the trademark registration application and related materials provided in an unreasonable or illegal manner. related matters, but for the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, it is impossible to review the authenticity of the application and related materials. Therefore, the determination of unfair means can only be made during the opposition procedure or in the subsequent procedure in which the registered person applies to cancel the trademark, and the person who has been registered can only provide evidence to prove that the applicant has used unfair means. What are unfair means? 1. The applicant takes advantage of the relationship with others. Small and medium-sized enterprises are most likely to be targeted. Because when small and medium-sized enterprises launch their products to the market, they often do not register trademarks first and then launch the products. Rather, they register trademarks only after their products have a certain impact. 2. Leverage the background of having worked with others.

As collaborators, they are most aware of the use of the trademark of the person being squatted. Some secretly registered the collaborator's trademark as their own during the cooperation period, while others transferred the collaborator's trademark to their own after the cooperation ended. Trademark registration first. 3. Other people in the same area who know the inside story. Take advantage of their different conditions and their own advantages, such as managers, legal advisors, reporters, trademark agents, etc., to learn about the operator's trademark use during news interviews or management work, and to foresee squatting Register first to benefit from the benefits brought by the trademark. The most common difference among the above-mentioned unfair methods is that they plagiarize others' trademarks that have been used but cannot apply for registration in the future. They do not condense their own wisdom and creativity on the trademarks they apply for registration. They essentially use Using legal means to cover up illegal or unreasonable nature as a means of deception violates the principle of "good faith". (3) Registration is successful, which is an objective or factual requirement. Only successful registration will eventually lead to "malicious registration". If during the opposition procedure, the person who has been registered by squatting finds that his trademark has been applied for by someone else, he can file an objection, resulting in an unsuccessful registration. Of course, there is no "malicious registration". In fact, in practice, a large number of operators do not know that their trademark has been applied for registration by others. Even though there is a three-month announcement period in the procedure, not all operators can see this announcement in time, and it is often not until After the squatter successfully registers, the registered trademark owner will know that the trademark that originally belonged to him has been registered by someone else. To establish this requirement, at least the following factors must be considered: 1. Whether the registered trademark is a trademark with certain influence. Normally, no one will rush to register a trademark that has no impact. “Having a certain influence” refers to a distinctive mark recognized by a certain group of people in a certain region. In fact, once goods or services are put on the market, due to the role of advertising and the process of transactions, the influence of trademarks has begun to occur in the minds of the public, and its influence has reached a "certain" level, such as a certain geographical scope and a certain group of people. scope. How to determine "has a certain impact"? The author believes that a comprehensive inspection can be carried out from the aspects of advertising of the product, product sales, market share, consumer awareness and geographical radiation. 2. Whether it is a trademark that has been used and is currently being used. A trademark that has been squatted should be considered as a trademark that has been used and is being used by the person who has been squatted, that is, the continuous use of the trademark is emphasized. If the trademark that has been used by the person who has been squatted stops using it midway, and someone else applies for registration, it will not be used. It should be considered as "squatting". A simple way to measure whether a trademark is continuously used is to see whether its products are continuously put on the market. Of course, if the use of the trademark is later than the registration by the squatter, there is no issue of preemptive registration. This time point shall be based on the date when the applicant submits the application to the Trademark Office. To sum up, to determine whether a trademark constitutes "malicious registration", we must start from its constituent elements. Only when the above-mentioned constituent elements are met at the same time, can we preliminarily determine that it constitutes "malicious registration" . Of course, the final determination must be supported by a large amount of evidence. In modern society where people are becoming more and more aware of copyright, many unscrupulous traders take advantage of legal loopholes and engage in unfair behaviors in order to seek benefits. The malicious registration of trademarks has a great impact on the company's good operations and brand promotion. Once someone is found to have maliciously registered a trademark, he will be severely punished.