The principle of priority originates from the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Convention) signed by 1883, and its purpose is to facilitate nationals of contracting States to apply to other contracting States after filing their own patent or trademark applications. Article 4 of the Paris Convention stipulates that any person who formally files an application for trademark registration in a country of the Union or his successor in rights shall have priority in applying for trademark registration in other countries for the same trademark on the same commodity within six months from the date of filing the first application.

China joined the Paris Convention on 1984, 1 14 10/4. Since then, the concept of priority has also been reflected in the trademark law.

1, 201In the new Trademark Law which came into effect in May, Article 25 stipulated the content of "priority". According to the content of the first paragraph of this article, if an applicant for trademark registration applies for trademark registration in China for the same commodity and the same trademark within six months from the date of the first application for trademark registration in a foreign country, he may enjoy the priority according to the agreement signed by the foreign country and China or the international treaties to which both countries are parties, or according to the principle of mutual recognition of priority. The date when the applicant first filed an application for trademark registration abroad is called the priority date.

The date of application for trademark registration of an applicant protected by priority is not bound by the date of filing an application for trademark registration in China, but by the priority date, that is, the date when the trademark is first filed in a foreign country. Therefore, it is inevitable that the application date will be earlier but later.

In addition, Article 26 of the Trademark Law also provides another case of priority. Where a trademark is used for the first time on a commodity exhibited in an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the China Municipal Government, the applicant for registration of the trademark may enjoy priority within 6 months from the date of exhibition of the commodity. This is a temporary protection measure for trademarks in international exhibitions.

It is worth noting that the priority of a trademark is not automatically generated, but needs to be claimed by the trademark registration applicant.

The applicant who claims priority must make a written statement when applying for trademark registration and submit relevant supporting documents within three months. Applicants who meet the priority requirements of Article 25 of the Trademark Law need to submit a copy of the application documents when applying for trademark registration for the first time, and applicants who meet the priority requirements of Article 26 of the Trademark Law use trademarks at international exhibitions for the first time. You need to submit the exhibition name of the goods on display, the evidence of using the trademark on the goods on display, the date of exhibition and other supporting documents. If a written statement is not submitted in accordance with the provisions or the supporting documents are not submitted within the time limit, it shall be deemed that the priority has not been claimed and the protection of the priority date cannot be enjoyed.