What is the status of trademark protection? How to protect trademarks? Let’s take a look at the following article brought to you by the editor: What is the status of trademark protection? There may be something you need. Two situations of well-known trademark protection
(1) Unregistered well-known trademarks. Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the Trademark Law stipulates that if a trademark applied for registration for identical or similar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of someone else's well-known trademark that has not been registered in China, and is likely to cause confusion, it shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited. It can be seen that unregistered well-known trademarks enjoy exclusive rights similar to ordinary registered trademarks.
(2) Registered well-known trademarks. Paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the Trademark Law stipulates that a trademark applied for registration for different or dissimilar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of a well-known trademark that has been registered in China by others, misleading the public, and causing the registrant of the well-known trademark to mislead the public. If your interests may be harmed, registration will not be granted and use will be prohibited. It can be seen that the registrant of a well-known trademark has the right to prohibit others from registering or using the well-known trademark on a certain range of non-similar goods, and even has the right to prohibit others from using the trademark as a well-known trademark. Trademarks are used as part of a business name. Expanding the content of well-known trademark protection
Specifically, the expansion of protection is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: (1) Using trademarks that are identical or similar to other people’s well-known trademarks in non-similar If an application for registration is made on a product and may harm the rights and interests of the well-known trademark registrant, the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce will reject the registration application; if the applicant is dissatisfied, he or she may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for review; , within five years from the date of registration, the registrant of a well-known trademark can request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to cancel it, but there is no time limit for malicious registration.
(2) Using a trademark that is the same as or similar to another’s well-known trademark on non-similar goods will imply that the goods have some connection with the well-known trademark registrant, which may cause the well-known trademark registrant to If the rights and interests of a well-known trademark are harmed, the well-known trademark registrant may request the industrial and commercial administrative authorities to stop it within two years from the date it knows or should know.
(3) From the date of recognition of a well-known trademark, if others use words that are identical or similar to the well-known trademark as part of the company name, and may cause misunderstanding by the public, the industrial and commercial administration authorities will not Approval of registration; if it has been registered, the well-known trademark registrant may request the industrial and commercial administration authority to cancel it within two years from the date it knows or should know. The trademark protection plan is as follows:
1. Register first and then use the trademark.
Unregistered trademarks do not enjoy exclusive rights, and others can also use the trademark. If a company's trademark is used first and then registered, it will be easily counterfeited or registered by others; once it is registered by others, the company will be passive. To regain the trademark, it can only resort to law, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the success is uncertain. If the exclusive right to use a trademark is lost, the company is likely to lose the market it has developed. There are many examples of this. Therefore, companies should register their trademarks first and then use them. Since trademark registration takes a long time (it takes more than a year from application to registration approval), it is best to register more backup trademarks in advance to meet the needs of enterprise development.
2. Choose a trademark with a unique design.
When choosing a trademark, on the premise that it does not violate the prohibited provisions of Articles 10 and 11 of the Trademark Law, the trademark should be as distinctive as possible, distinctive and distinctive, so that consumers can see it at a glance , photographic memory. If you blindly imitate other people's trademarks, you may not only infringe other people's prior rights, but also destroy your own credibility.
3. Choose a trademark that consumers like.
The use of trademarks on goods or services is directly oriented to consumers, so the following factors should be considered when choosing: (1) It should not be too complicated or cumbersome, and should be easy to remember (convenient for consumers to remember) and easy to read. (Eye-catching, prominent, and giving a deep visual impression). (2) Pay attention to the pronunciation of the trademark. The pronunciation of the trademark text should be catchy, easy for consumers to call, and easy to convey information. (3) Pay attention to the politics, religion, customs, habits, languages ??and other factors of different countries and ethnic groups, and avoid words and graphics that may cause adverse consequences. For example, the translation of the "Blue Sky" trademark into "BLUESKY" was originally correct, but it was greatly ignored after entering the US market. The reason is that "BLUESKY" means "irrecoverable bond" in English.
4. Register a defense trademark. Defense trademarks refer to trademarks registered to prevent others from using their registered trademarks to cause damage, including defensive trademarks and joint trademarks. A defensive trademark means that the trademark owner registers his trademark on other non-similar goods, which can extend the scope of rights protection of the registered trademark. A joint trademark refers to the registration of two or more similar trademarks on the same or similar goods. For example, after applying for "Jianwei Bao", you can also register "Bao Jianwei", "Wei Jianbao" and other trademarks. However, it should be noted that in When a trademark is transferred, the joint trademark cannot be transferred separately but must be transferred together.
5. International registration of trademarks.
If an enterprise does not register a trademark in a foreign country, and if the trademark has been registered when the product is exported to that country, it will face the risk of being sued for infringement. Therefore, from the perspective of long-term development, enterprises should do a good job in international trademark registration. Currently, the simplest, most time-saving and labor-saving system is the Madrid International Registration System. Through this system, you can obtain exclusive rights protection for registered trademarks in member countries of the Madrid Agreement or Protocol. The procedures are simple and the registration fee is much cheaper than registration in a single country.
6. The unified trademark and corporate name are the same.
It is best for companies to register their trademarks as trade names. This can effectively prevent others from registering and using a well-known trademark of the company as a trade name in the company name, misleading the public and damaging the legitimate rights and interests of the company. . The unification of trademarks and font sizes is conducive to corporate publicity and is also conducive to consumers' remembering and differentiation.
7. Prominently promote the trademark.
Some companies often highlight the common name of the product on the outer packaging of their products, ignore the use of trademarks, and place the trademark in an inconspicuous position, turning it into a "small button"; in advertising, Products and companies are introduced broadly, but trademarks are avoided. Ignoring the use and promotion of trademarks cannot help consumers recognize the brand and purchase goods. The trademark loses its role in distinguishing the source of goods and services. Naturally, trademark visibility cannot be improved.
The above is the "trademark protection situation" provided by the editor for everyone. I hope you will like it! Trademark protection