When starting a business, you will inevitably encounter trademarks. A while ago, Jiangsu Satellite TV argued that "If You Are the One" is not a trademark. In fact, it is not only a TV program, website domain name, product logo, etc., it is also a trademark. Used to indicate the source of goods and services. So in the process of starting a business, what risks will you encounter regarding trademarks? Yiyuan will give you a comprehensive inventory below. 90% of entrepreneurs have encountered the three major trademark risks.
Case 1: Be cautious when determining trademarks
Company A mainly deals in imported goods from the United States. In order to reflect its business characteristics, they added the stars and stripes of the American flag when designing the graphic trademark to express The Trademark Office filed an application for trademark registration. Subsequently, Company A began to use the trademark and conducted a large number of advertising promotions. Unexpectedly, one year later, the company received a "Notice of Trademark Rejection" from the Trademark Office, stating that the trademark they applied for could not be registered. It was informed that the trademark violated the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law and it would be difficult to pass the review. In the end, Company A had no choice but to accept the fact that the trademark could not be registered, and all the early promotion efforts and established brand benefits were in vain.
Bajie suggested: The "Trademark Law" specifically stipulates the circumstances that cannot be used as trademarks or cannot be registered as trademarks, such as our country's national flag, national emblem, military flag, medals, etc., as well as foreign country names, The national flag, national emblem, names and signs of intergovernmental international organizations, etc., and some signs that are deceptive, easily cause misunderstanding, are harmful to socialist morals or have other adverse effects cannot be used as trademarks. There are also some trademarks that cannot be registered due to lack of distinctiveness. In addition, applying for a registered trademark cannot conflict with other people’s previously acquired legal rights. For example, prior similar trademarks, appearance patents, corporate trade names, copyrights, and name rights may all become obstacles to trademark registration.
Enterprises should have a certain understanding of these regulations. When choosing a trademark, it is best to consult professionals and conduct a comprehensive search. Many companies pay more attention to brand concept design and marketing promotion in the early stage, and ignore the legal aspects of trademarks. They think that it is enough to leave the trademark design to an agency to apply. It takes more than a year from application to formal registration of a trademark. If the trademark cannot be registered because it violates the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law, the company's early investment in promoting the trademark will be wasted, and it is likely to lose good development opportunities.
Case 2: Be careful with the logo you bought from Taobao
Company B wanted to design a company logo, so it found a trademark design shop on Taobao, which provided several designs for it. Pattern selection, Company B chose a pattern they thought was good.
Company B applied for registration of the pattern to the Trademark Office. One year later, they also received a "Notice of Trademark Rejection". The reason for rejection was that it was similar to a previously registered trademark. They discovered that the previously registered trademark was exactly the same as the design they applied for. It turns out that Taobao’s design store steals patterns from the Internet for buyers to choose from.
Bajie suggested: There are many logo design shops on Taobao now, and the competition is fierce, which reduces the design costs of enterprises. This is originally a good thing, but enterprises should also pay attention to the risks involved.
It is best to have a preliminary idea of ??the trademark logo yourself, and then ask a design company to design it based on this, and avoid using ready-made works by the design company. At the same time, a design entrustment contract must be signed with a design company. In the contract, it is important to stipulate the ownership of the copyright of the design plan, the inability of the work to infringe the copyright of others, and legal responsibilities. Before the formal application, a similar search for the logo must also be conducted to reduce the risk of trademark being used. Legal risks of rejection.
Case 3 Trademark application to prevent leakage
Company C conceived a good word trademark. In order to ensure successful registration, they consulted a trademark agency and asked them to check the similarity of the trademark on their behalf. situation, but in the end they chose another agency to apply for registration on their behalf due to cost issues. Later, their trademarks were also rejected because of similarity. However, the previous similar trademark was exactly the same as theirs, and the application date was only one day earlier than theirs.
Company C only disclosed the trademark situation to this trademark agency before formally filing the application. They also learned that this agency is a company that specializes in trademark squatting and specializes in squatting on popular trademarks in society. Soon after, the holder of the cited trademark sent a warning letter to Company C, requiring them to stop using the trademark, otherwise they would file a trademark infringement lawsuit in court.
Another solution is for Company C to purchase the trademark at a high price.
Bajie suggests: confidentiality must be maintained during the trademark conception stage. In addition to the trademark agency, the company's internal employees, partners, shareholders, and competitors may rush to register leaked trademarks. , in particular, there are a large number of "professional trademark squatting registration households". They pay special attention to the brand information of some companies. Once they confirm that the company's brand has not applied for a trademark, they will carry out squatting registration and then negotiate terms with the company. Some companies strictly abide by the principle of not publishing without applying, and publish their trademarks only after receiving the acceptance notice from the Trademark Office. This is a very good practice.