Trademarks, copyrights, and patents are three types of intellectual property rights. They are unique and different. If you use trademarks and copyrights or trademarks and patents together, you will have better results. Mainly What is the effect? ??Today we will focus on the combined use of trademarks and copyrights, trademarks and patents!

Definitions of trademarks, copyrights and patents:

Trademarks

Trademarks are used by producers and operators of goods in their production, manufacturing, processing, selection or distribution. Text, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, or a combination of the above elements that are used to distinguish the source of goods or services on goods or services provided by them, and have distinctive characteristics sign. In the commercial field, words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional logos and color combinations, as well as combinations of the above elements, can be applied for registration as trademarks.

Copyright:

Copyright is copyright, which refers to the rights (including property rights and personal rights) that authors of literary, artistic, and scientific works enjoy over their works. Copyright is a type of intellectual property, which consists of copyrights in natural sciences, social sciences, literature, music, drama, painting, sculpture, photography and film photography.

Patent:

There are three types of patents: invention, utility model, and design. Patents are reviewed by the Patent Office, while trademarks are reviewed by the Trademark Office. Generally speaking, the patent examination process is relatively complex and takes longer.

Trademarks and Copyright

Many friends who have applied for trademarks know that there are 45 categories of goods. If a trademark is applied for all product categories, the required fee is It is very large. If you do not apply for all categories, others can use the exact same trademark in other categories.

Copyright has nothing to do with the product that carries the work. You only need to keep the original manuscript and you don’t even need to register it to get copyright protection. Therefore, the cost of using copyright to protect a certain design is very low.

Of course, the limitations of copyright are also very obvious. First of all, a few simple words cannot constitute a work in the sense of copyright law; for graphics, the same applies to simple graphics. Copyright protection.

When a copyright is infringed, the rights holder must provide evidence that he is the copyright owner and enjoys the copyright. If it is difficult for the copyright owner to prove that he is the creator of the work or the successor of the rights, it will cause great difficulties for the rights holder to claim his rights.

The voluntary copyright registration system is set up to solve these problems. If the right holder first registers the copyright after completing the creation of the work, he only needs to present the certificate issued by the registration center when presenting evidence. Generally, It will be recognized by the court or relevant authorities.

Therefore, for beautifully designed graphic trademarks, this kind of combined protection can be adopted: 1. Register the trademark for the trademark category involved in the company’s products; 2. .Submit the graphic design for copyright registration.

Trademarks and Patents

Trademarks and patents are intellectual property rights in the traditional sense. They are both regional and strictly territorial. Domestic trademarks and patents have no effect abroad. , need to reapply.

In addition, both are time-sensitive. The difference is that trademarks can be extended indefinitely, while patents become free technology for society after expiration.

The overlap between patents and trademarks lies in the protection of products such as labels and three-dimensional trademarks. Before the amendment of the Patent Law, design patents could protect patterns, so important graphic trademarks would generally apply for design patents at the same time; after the amendment of the Patent Law, design patents no longer protect patterns.

In addition to label products, it is still recommended to apply for trademarks and patents at the same time for product designs with relatively complex designs and trademark patterns that account for a large proportion of the product appearance, so as to maximize the strength and scope of protection.

However, trademark law sometimes conflicts with patents. First of all, when the design is distinctive enough to distinguish the source of the product, there is no doubt that it can be protected by trademark law. In addition, when a trademark is used on goods and becomes a new aesthetic design, it can be protected by patent law.

The legal basis for trademark rights and design patent rights are different. Trademark law requires trademarks to have universal distinctive features and be easy to identify, while patent laws require design patents to be significantly different from previous designs.

In addition, the protection periods of the two rights are different. Trademark rights can be theoretically extended indefinitely by applying for renewal, while design patent rights have a time limit. If the protection period of the design patent rights exceeds A design may be registered as a trademark by someone other than the patentee.

The Trademark Office is responsible for the application, examination and confirmation of trademark rights, and the Industry and Commerce Bureau is responsible for the assertion and protection of rights; while the application, examination and confirmation of design patent rights is the responsibility of the Patent Office, and its rights are Protection is also the responsibility of local patent offices.

In the face of these conflicts, the solutions are as follows:

1. If the patentee uses trademark words and graphics that have been approved by others to apply for a design patent, it is obviously Infringes upon the previously acquired legal rights (trademark rights) of others. At this time, the trademark owner can file a patent invalidation request with the Patent Reexamination Board, or directly file a lawsuit with the court in accordance with the Trademark Law.

2. If the patentee believes that someone else’s exclusive right to use a registered trademark infringes upon his or her patent rights, he or she can file an objection against the trademark or request that the trademark be declared invalid.