The epidemic situation is severe, and the most commonly used disinfection products are alcohol and 84 disinfectant. But do you know the origin of 84?

what does "84" mean?

In 1984, ditan hospital's predecessor, Beijing No.1 Infectious Disease Hospital, successfully developed a disinfectant that can quickly kill all kinds of hepatitis viruses. After being appraised by experts organized by Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, it was awarded the second prize for its application achievements, and it was named "84" hepatitis decontamination solution, and later renamed "84 disinfection solution". In 1984, that's the origin of its name! For more than 3 years, this post-8 s product has been outstanding in disinfection, showing its power.

after the successful research and development of 84 disinfectant, ditan hospital established "Beijing No.1 Infectious Disease Hospital Labor Service Company" in the same year to produce and sell 84 disinfectant. In June, 1992, ditan hospital invested in the establishment of Beijing Longan Medical Technology Development Company (hereinafter referred to as Longan Company) and entrusted the company to produce and sell "84" disinfectant. Both parties agreed that all legal disputes in the production, development, operation and sales of "84" disinfectant in the future would be solved by ditan hospital in the name of ditan hospital.

in March, 1997, ditan hospital also transferred and licensed its technology to more than 3 manufacturers in the country to produce and sell "84" disinfectant by setting up a group company. Each transferee enterprise shall indicate the trademark and the name of "84" hepatitis decontamination solution or "84" disinfection solution on its products.

Later, with the increase of the popularity of "84" disinfectant, a variety of "84" disinfectant appeared in the market, which once caused confusion in the market.

can "84" apply for a trademark?

Upon inquiry, it is found that the number of applications for the "84" trademark is not much, only 2 pieces, while there are more than 2 trademarks containing the word "84".

For disinfectant, the core category is Category 5 (mainly including drugs and other medical or veterinary preparations). At present, there is no successful registration in this category.

The judgment shows that one of the transferee enterprises, Wuhan Qiaokou Yangzi Detergent Factory, applied to the Trademark Office to register the "84" brand in the fifth category of goods, which was rejected by the Trademark Office on the grounds that the trademark should not only have the common name, figure and model of the goods.

in March, 1999, ditan hospital applied to the former Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for cancellation of the "84" trademark registration certificate wrongly issued by the Trademark Office to Aitefu Health Care Products Company for category 5 (disinfectants) goods No.114561. Ditan hospital said in the application that "84" disinfectant technology has been transferred to 38 enterprises in China, occupying an important place in the disinfectant market, and this kind of products are collectively called "84 disinfectant".

In December, 1999, the former Trademark Review and Adjudication Board rejected Aitefu Health Products Company's application for re-registration of the "84" trademark on Class 5 disinfectant products. After review, the applied trademark "84" can still be clearly read, although it has graphic changes. At present, there are still 84 disinfectant produced by other enterprises for sale in the market. This title has become the common name of this product and should not be registered by one company.

Later, Longan Company, which was funded by ditan hospital, also applied to the Trademark Office to register the trademark "Longan 84" on Class 5 disinfectant.

It seems that ditan hospital is also fighting for the "84" trademark!

how did "84" become a common name?

since the research and development of "84" disinfectant in 1984, ditan hospital has transferred the technology to many enterprises in China and licensed them to produce and sell "84" disinfectant, but there is no special agreement on the name of "84" in the relevant technology transfer license contract. In the joint production contract, only the ownership of the technical achievements of the "84" hepatitis disinfectant is agreed, but other intellectual property rights and ownership of the product are not agreed. As a result, "84" disinfectant is widely used as the name of this kind of goods, and all the transferee enterprises indicate their own trademarks while using the name of the goods to distinguish them.

To make matters worse, in April 21, the Ministry of Health issued the Notice of the Ministry of Health on Printing and Distributing the Naming Provisions for Health-related Products, which put forward requirements for the naming of health-related products, including disinfectants and disinfection devices. Article 4 (3) of the Regulations on Naming Health-related Products stipulates that the principles that health-related products must conform to include: the name consists of three parts: brand name, common name and attribute name. By September, 22, there are five "84" disinfectants that have been approved by the Ministry of Health and are within the validity period. Besides Longan brand 84 disinfectants and Aitefu brand 84 disinfectants, there are Qingdao Jiandun Disinfectant Factory, Anhui Bengbu Epidemic Prevention Products Factory, Yakang brand 84 disinfectants and Nanjing Jiangnan Disinfectant Factory.

According to the requirements of the Naming Regulations for Health-related Products issued by the Ministry of Health, the product name is a combination of the trademarks of various manufacturers and "84" disinfectant, and the source of the product can no longer be distinguished by the name of "84" disinfectant. The mark that distinguishes this kind of products is the trademark of each manufacturer, not the commodity name of "84" disinfectant. Therefore, ditan hospital's "84" disinfectant is the unique name of its well-known commodity, and its proprietary claim is hard to support.

In addition, over the years, the Ministry of Health involved in the production and distribution of "84" disinfectant, the former Trademark Review and Adjudication Board involved in the dispute over the registration of "84" trademark and other relevant competent departments have also managed "84" as a common name of disinfectant, or decided that "84" represents the model characteristics of this product and will not be registered as a trademark. "84" disinfectant has been used as a generally recognized commodity name in this industry.

unique name VS generic name

The so-called unique name of a well-known commodity refers to a commodity name that is not commonly used by related commodities, has distinctive characteristics, and enables consumers to distinguish the commodity from similar commodities of other operators through its use in commodities. However, once it has been registered as a trademark, it no longer has the attributes of a unique name of a well-known commodity, but has the exclusivity of a registered trademark right.

the common name of a commodity refers to the name commonly used by producers, operators or consumers to address a commodity in a certain field. Such as "TV", "washing machine" and "refrigerator" are all common names.

the unique names of well-known commodities are protected according to law, and the obligee has the right to stop others from using the unique names of well-known commodities for unfair competition without permission. However, "84" disinfectant is not the unique name of well-known goods, and it cannot be used exclusively by one family. It seems that ditan hospital repented ~

How to avoid the trademark becoming a generic name

Article 59 of the Trademark Law stipulates that the exclusive right holder of a registered trademark has no right to prohibit others from properly using the generic name, figure and model of the commodity contained in the registered trademark, or directly indicating the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the commodity, or the place name contained therein.

Therefore, even if the trademark "Longan 84" is successfully registered, it cannot prevent other disinfectants from using the word "84". Similar examples are morphine and aspirin from Bayer, a German pharmaceutical giant, zipper from Guthrie, and USB flash drive from Netac, Shenzhen, all of which had their trademarks revoked and became generic names. Once a trademark is recognized as a generic name, it will undoubtedly bring huge losses to enterprises.

how to prevent a trademark from becoming a generic name?

1. Choose a logo with strong distinctiveness for trademark registration. Try to avoid using words that summarize the characteristics and uses of goods and simple linear graphics with no outstanding characteristics.

2. When applying for a trademark, pay attention to brand diversification. Registering defensive trade mark in different categories or different products reduces the possibility of the trademark becoming a generic name.

3. Pay attention to the propaganda language and avoid replacing the commodity name with the trademark name. For example, "Band-Aid" is almost regarded as a synonym for band-aid. Johnson & Johnson's "Cosmetic Contact Lenses" has almost become synonymous with contact lenses. This all risks becoming a common name.

5. properly keep all kinds of trademark use evidence: market publicity, honors won, interview materials, etc.

Get it out of your chest

Cause: WHO announced that the "new coronavirus" was named "COVID-19". Previously, National Health Commission released the English name of "COVID-19", Novell Coronavirus, or NCP for short. Because it has the same name as corona, Mexico's largest export beer brand, its sales have been greatly affected. The beer company will donate 15 million dollars for the prevention and treatment of the epidemic, but their condition is that the name of novel Coronavirus must be changed from Coronavirus (Corona virus) to Budweiser light beer virus.

Q: What do you think of the "name collision" between beer trademarks and COVID-19?

a: money can change the name of the virus, and the sword refers to competitors.