How to handle the trademark registration appeal process?
1. How to handle the complaint process of trademark registration? 1. Objection to the trademark announced in the preliminary examination According to Article 3 of the Trademark Law, "any person can object to the trademark announced in the preliminary examination within 3 months from the date of announcement." If the obligee thinks that his trademark has been maliciously applied for registration by others first, if it is found in time within the announcement period of the preliminary examination and approval of the trademark, he may raise an objection to the Trademark Office and request the Trademark Office not to approve the registration. 2. Submit a dispute to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board over a registered trademark. According to the provisions of Article 41 of the Trademark Law, if the obligee thinks that his trademark has been pre-registered by others in bad faith, he may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for cancellation within five years from the date of registration of the trademark. When applying to the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for objections or disputes, and claiming rights, the parties concerned shall state the reasons and provide corresponding evidence in combination with the constitutive elements of the registered trademark behavior analyzed above. These evidences should focus on two aspects: on the one hand, the evidence that the trademark registrant is subjectively malicious, such as the commodity purchase and sale contract and correspondence between the two parties related to the disputed trademark, and the written evidence that the trademark registrant demands unreasonably high "trademark transfer fee" from the obligee; On the other hand, it is the evidence that the right holder used and publicized the disputed trademark in advance, such as the entrustment contract and corresponding documents between the right holder and trademark design and trademark logo printing, the advertising production and release contract of the trademark, newspapers and magazines that advertised the trademark, and the purchase and sale contracts and invoices of the trademark goods. 2. Malicious application for a trademark (1) In order to seek illegitimate interests, the applicant is a subjective element of "malicious cybersquatting". The applicant applies for a trademark that has been used by others as his own trademark. This behavior itself has already encroached on the labor achievements of others. If the registration is successful, it is tantamount to stealing in a legal way. What is more serious is that once the registration is successful, the "malicious cybersquatting" applicant becomes the legal owner, that is, he will use the occupation right of his registered trademark to prohibit others from using the trademark that originally belonged to him or use his disposition right to transfer or license the registered person to use the trademark at a high price. If these purposes cannot be achieved, they will file an infringement lawsuit or report to the industrial and commercial administration and ask for compensation. The realistic question is, how to determine the establishment of this subjective element? It is impossible for us to go deep into the applicant's inner world to understand whether their subjective desire can only be analyzed through phenomena for illegitimate interests. What phenomena can be analyzed? One is to see whether he uses it himself after successful registration, that is, on his own product, and whether this product is similar or similar to the product of the registered person; The second is whether to transfer or license the trademark to the registered person at a high price; The third is whether to directly sue the registered person for infringement and make a claim for compensation. Through the analysis of these aspects, if the registered trademark of the "cybersquatting" applicant is not mainly for his own use, or even does not have his own product, and then transfers it at a high price or requests compensation from the cybersquatting person, we can accurately identify his subjective purpose, that is, to seek illegitimate interests. (2) The applicant has taken improper means, which is an improper means of behavioral elements. It means that the applicant for trademark registration has falsely filled in the relevant matters in the application for trademark registration and the relevant materials provided in an unreasonable or illegal way, but it is impossible for the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to examine the authenticity of the application and related materials. Therefore, it is only possible to identify improper means in the objection procedure or in the subsequent application for revocation of the trademark by the registered person, and the registered person will present evidence to prove that the applicant has adopted improper means. What are the improper means? 1. The applicant takes advantage of the relationship with others. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the easiest targets to be registered. Because when small and medium-sized enterprises launch their own products to the market, they often don't register their trademarks first and then launch their products. More often, they register their trademarks only after their products have certain influence. 2. Use the background that you have worked with others. As partners, they are the most aware of the use of the registered trademark. Some of them secretly register the trademark of the partner as their own during the cooperation, while others register the trademark of the partner first after the cooperation. 3. Other people in the same area who know the inside story. Taking advantage of its different conditions and own advantages, such as managers, legal advisers, journalists, trademark agents, etc., in the process of news interviews or management, they can learn about the use of the trademark of the operator, and can foresee the benefits brought by squatting the trademark and register first. In China, relevant trademark holders, if they find that their trademarks have been registered, need to make corresponding representations to the local trademark authorities, collect relevant evidence of registered trademark enterprises, and safeguard their actual legitimate interests and related economic losses. The relevant departments notarized this kind of event.