In 1904 AD (the 30th year of Guangxu), the Qing government promulgated my country's first trademark regulations, the "Trial Regulations for Trademark Registration". Its promulgation ended "China has opened its ports to trade for decades, and merchants' trademarks have No protection” history. Since the Qing Dynasty, many businessmen have realized the importance of trademarks. Therefore, some celebrities or businessmen must also pay attention to this issue. To avoid being taken advantage of.
How did Guangxu Emperor’s trademark registration come about?
Recently I saw that a well-known blogger’s name was maliciously registered by a company, and the other party asked the blogger to stop using his registered trademark. It is said that the blogger is using his real name, which is embarrassing. Malicious registration puts others at risk, and the blogger has millions of fans, so he is considered a well-known figure. Therefore, the blogger was still very confident, and in the end the malicious registration party gave in.
Because many people have little awareness of the protection of intellectual property rights, for example, those of us who work in self-media can just choose a name as long as no one else uses it. There was no registered trademark, but who would have known that it would become famous later and be maliciously registered by some trademark companies, and then use the trademark to extort money. This is obviously against professional ethics.
Of course, names are also very common. You can register, but you can't let users change their real names, right? Just like Alipay, a subsidiary of Alibaba, a person with the same name appeared in Shandong. It is said that this person named "Alipay" opened a store. Even if Alipay is very famous and people use their own names and have been using it decades ago, you can't sue them and change their names, right?
It is estimated that many people do not know the birth of trademark registration. Due to the Opium War, the Qing government opened its doors to the outside world, and foreign businessmen began to enter China to do business. However, some mainland businessmen have begun to counterfeit foreign products, privately label them with foreign labels, and sell foreign products. Many foreign businessmen suffered great losses. In order to prevent the emergence of such counterfeit goods, foreigners forced the Qing government to introduce a trademark protection law and set up a trademark registration bureau to protect the interests of foreigners in China. Therefore, in 1904, the Qing government, led by British customs official Hurd, promulgated the first trademark regulations in my country's history - the "Trial Regulations for Trademark Registration."
Article 1***28 of the "Trial Regulations for Trademark Registration" promulgated by the Qing government, which was implemented under the leadership of the British, followed the provisions of the Sino-British unequal treaty and was intended to protect the imperialists. Charter for invading Chinese interests. Of course, from the side, it also protects the interests of Chinese businessmen. However, Chinese commerce was just budding at that time, so the main protection object of the Charter was still the interests of foreign businessmen in China.
Can the name of a person in the trial trademark registration regulations be registered as a trademark?
With the introduction of trademark registration regulations, merchants in the Qing Dynasty gradually strengthened their trademark awareness, and merchants began to pay attention to trademark protection issues when doing business. Of course, we also encountered some troubles when registering trademarks. What about those troubles? Let’s take a look!
There is a description in the novel "Xie Pu Chao" by the novelist Zhu Shouju of the Republic of China, which talks about an issue about trademark registration: There is a theater in Shanghai, and there is a dramatist named Qiu Tianmin in the theater. He was very good at singing opera and was very famous at that time. There was a businessman named Qiu who opened a theater at the suggestion of others and named it "Qiu Tianmin". He also used the name "Qiu Tianmin" in newspapers to attract customers. The dramatist named Qiu Tianmin originally planned to negotiate with them, but he realized that names are not trademarks. My surname is Qiu and I cannot let others not have the surname Qiu. My name is "Tianmin" and I cannot prohibit others from taking the name "Tianmin". Even a lawsuit would be in vain. Besides, there are 400 million compatriots in the world. There are so many people born with the same name that it is impossible to refute them. In the end, they can only be confused.
In fact, during the Qing government, many people knew that personal names could not be registered as trademarks. Because there are too many people with the same name across the country, especially the names of well-known celebrities, even if you register, you cannot be protected. If someone really wants to use your name for commercial purposes, and you want to sue them, you won't win. Therefore, there is no need to worry when your name is registered maliciously.
In "Along the River During Qingming Festival", foreigners pay so much attention to trademark protection under the guise of the market, which may be a warning to us!
Westerners reinvent and create and do not allow others to imitate.
Commercial goods must have trademarks. One company’s patent is not allowed to be used by others. "Manuscripts on the History of the Qing Dynasty·Diplomatic Relations 5·Germany" stipulates: "All Chinese trademarks can be registered in China once evidence provided by the consuls in China proves that the trademark has been recognized in China and actually belongs to the person who submitted the request. Germany enjoys the same protection rights as German trademarks. "In addition to German trademarks being protected in China, Chinese businessmen also have the same protection rights for their trademarks in Germany. "The names and brands of Chinese businessmen must be protected in Germany to prevent counterfeiting. German trademarks must also be protected in China to prevent counterfeiting." The core clause of trademark registration is actually to prevent others from counterfeiting your own goods! Of course, a trademark must be registered with the Trademark Office before it can obtain protection. If it is not registered, it cannot be legally protected. Therefore, today's businessmen pay great attention to the trademark protection of their own brands in the process of doing business.
What are the advantages of trademark registration? "Cambridge History of China in the Late Qing Dynasty" gives an example: "For example, from places where weaving is done in southern Hubei, farmers, weavers or small businessmen bring cloth to the cloth market that is open every day in Shashi for sale. Wholesalers buy at this market Cloth is graded according to quality, and each grade of cloth is given a brand name label (trademark), which indicates that it is a recognized quality assurance for goods sold in the Yunnan-Guizhou market. "
Qing Dynasty trademark
Trademark is a function of distinguishing quality and popularity. Of course, another advantage is that if you make a product bigger and more famous, if you register a trademark. If the other party counterfeits your products, you can sue them and ask them to compensate you for your losses.
Nowadays, companies that maliciously register trademarks go to the Internet to find certain well-known people. Due to weak awareness of intellectual property protection and no registered trademarks, trademark companies took advantage of legal loopholes and secretly registered trademarks. People who don’t know the truth don’t even dare to speak out when faced with blackmail. It can be said that they have no way to complain. Faced with this situation, there is actually no need to be afraid. Especially those big guys who use their own names don’t have to worry about being registered.
Of course, if it is not your own name, then you should pay attention to trademark protection awareness. To avoid being registered by some malicious and unprofessional companies or individuals. Even if they don't blackmail you, if you want to register a trademark to sell products, you may not be able to register it. Therefore, it is reasonable for foreigners to be the first to propose trademark registration, and we must pay attention to it.