On this year’s World Intellectual Property Day, the Supreme People’s Court publicly heard 10 administrative litigation retrial applications for trademark disputes related to Jordan. It can be said that the trial of these cases demonstrates China’s attitude towards intellectual property protection. The trial results of the case provide explanations on the protection of prior rights in trademark registration, conflicts of different rights and even disputes caused by historical reasons, etc., and also promote the end of the protracted "Jordan" series of trademark rights confirmation administrative cases.
In this series of cases, public opinion focuses on two controversial points: Does Jordan have a unique correspondence with the famous American basketball star Michael Jordan? Is there any relationship between Jordan Sports Company and Michael Jordan? Regardless of the past What kind of controversy surrounds the Jordan trademark? This retrial judgment of the Supreme People's Court will give the final answer and provide a reference precedent for handling similar cases in the future.
Looking at the number of intellectual property dispute cases currently occurring in our country, trademark dispute cases have always ranked first. Among trademark dispute cases, administrative litigation cases involving administrative confirmation of administrative rights account for a considerable proportion. The essence of a trademark administrative confirmation case is to ultimately confirm whether a certain trademark should be registered. Although my country's Trademark Law has clear and specific provisions on whether a trademark should be registered, such disputes still arise, which is indeed worth pondering.
The role of a trademark is to represent a company. In market competition, enterprises can promote and use their own trademarks, and on the premise of improving the quality of goods and services, guide consumers to "recognize the brand and purchase goods", expand market share, and obtain good economic benefits. This is the normal competition rule in the market regulated by the Trademark Law, and what follows is the normal order of market competition.
After the founding of New China, because our country has been in a planned economy environment for a long time, in the initial stage of the implementation of the Trademark Law, companies did not know how to register a suitable commercial mark to represent themselves. There are some issues remaining in trademark registration. These historical issues became one of the main reasons for subsequent trademark administrative confirmation cases. In the early days of my country's market economy, some companies often looked for the most convenient way to accumulate wealth. This mentality is also reflected in the long-term phenomenon of imitation, "riding" and "famous brand" in trademark registration, including the emergence of a large number of similar trademarks or identical trademarks. This is another reason why the current number of trademark administrative confirmation cases is large. A reason.
Since a trademark is a mark that represents an enterprise, how can this commercial mark better represent the enterprise and allow the public to truly recognize the brand and purchase goods in the market? This is what the enterprise needs when applying for trademark registration. Issues to consider first and foremost. Therefore, we need to pay special attention to the exclusive distinctiveness of trademarks. An enterprise with sustainable development goals should enable consumers to quickly identify its brand, purchase its products or receive its services in market competition. The correct trademark registration strategy is to focus on the exclusive distinctiveness of the trademark and make its trademark Be different and quickly recognized in the market. As for those who try to create a trademark, no matter how big or far they go, they will eventually be exhausted by the pebble called "copycat" in the soles of their shoes.