The term of a trademark right is the validity period during which the exclusive right to use a trademark is protected by law. Almost all countries in the world have stipulated time limits on the validity of exclusive rights to trademarks, but the methods and length of time limits are different in each country. Most countries stipulate a time limit of 10 years, such as Japan, France, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and other countries. The time when trademark validity begins to be calculated in different countries is also different. For example, in France, it is calculated from the date of application, while in the United States, it is calculated from the date of approval of registration. Article 39 of my country’s 2014 Trademark Law stipulates that the validity period of a registered trademark is 10 years, calculated from the date of approval. In addition, Paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the 2014 Trademark Law stipulates that for a trademark that is approved for registration after examination and objection is not established, the time for the trademark registration applicant to obtain the exclusive right to trademark shall be calculated from the expiration of the three-month period of the preliminary approval announcement.
The determination of the term of trademark rights follows two principles: One principle is that the validity period of a registration is limited. The validity period of registration in my country is 10 years from the date of approval of registration. Another principle is that there is no limit to the number of renewals, and the validity period of each renewal registration is also 10 years. Can be renewed continuously.
1. What does the term of trademark exclusive rights mean?
The term of trademark rights is also called the validity period of a registered trademark. It refers to the trademark owner’s right to the registered trademark within a certain period of time. Enjoy exclusive rights. The term of trademark rights is the validity period for which the exclusive right to use a trademark is protected by law. The legal protection of trademarks is not permanent, but limited to a certain period of time. Of course, before the expiration of the protection period, the trademark owner can apply to the relevant departments for renewal, so that the trademark will be protected by law. The validity period of a registered trademark shall be calculated from the date the trademark is approved for registration.
2. What are the characteristics of the exclusive right to trademark?
1. Timely and effective administrative protection. Compared with judicial protection, the outstanding feature is high efficiency, which has been recognized by Chinese and foreign trademarks. Approved by the exclusive rights holder. Judging from the number of cases accepted, administrative law enforcement agencies account for about 90% of the total number of cases. Especially in terms of handling measures, administrative law enforcement agencies have the right to order suspected infringers to immediately stop their infringement activities, which is very conducive to the protection of trademark exclusive rights. In terms of case processing results, the administrative penalty decisions of administrative law enforcement agencies are generally issued faster than judicial judgments. Even if difficult issues are involved, they need to seek instructions from higher-level administrative agencies. Since they belong to the same system, the efficiency is also very high.
2. Diversity of means Administrative law enforcement agencies can take administrative coercive measures against infringement suspects through various legal administrative law enforcement means, such as inquiry, inspection, investigation, ordering sealing, etc. The administrative penalties imposed by administrative law enforcement agencies also reflect the diversity of characteristics, including orders to immediately stop sales, confiscation and destruction of infringing trademarks, elimination of infringing trademarks on existing goods, and fines. The administrative law enforcement agency may also make a decision on ordering compensation in response to the party's request for ordering compensation.
3. Proactive and Flexible Administrative agencies implement the principle of combining "active protection based on ex officio" and "passive protection based on complaints" in the protection of trademark exclusive rights. The industrial and commercial administration authorities have the right to supervise and inspect the trademark use behavior of trademark users in accordance with the law, and have the right to take corresponding administrative law enforcement measures when suspicion of infringement is discovered.
4. Hierarchical management: Administrative law enforcement agencies generally investigate and deal with cases of trademark infringement and counterfeiting according to the administrative regions under their jurisdiction. When trademark rights holders or ordinary consumers discover trademark violations such as trademark infringement and counterfeiting, they usually choose to complain or report to the grassroots industrial and commercial administration authorities where the illegal acts occurred. As the national trademark authority, the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce generally does not accept direct complaints from trademark owners, but is mainly responsible for the guidance, supervision, and coordination of the investigation and handling of trademark violations nationwide.
Our country has clear regulations on the period of exclusive rights for trademarks. Within a certain period of time from the date of registration, the exclusive rights of the trademark belong exclusively to the registrant. If there is any illegal behavior during this period, The trademark registrant needs to bear corresponding legal responsibilities. If the use period exceeds, it needs to be renewed. If it is not renewed, it will no longer have the right to use the trademark.
Legal basis:
"Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 39 The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, subject to approval Calculated from the date of registration.
Article 40 If a registered trademark expires and needs to be continued to be used, the trademark registrant shall go through the renewal procedures in accordance with the regulations within twelve months before the expiration; if it cannot be done during this period, it may A six-month grace period was granted. Each renewal of registration is valid for ten years, starting from the day after the expiration of the previous term of validity of the trademark. If renewal procedures are not completed upon expiration, the registered trademark will be cancelled. The Trademark Office shall announce the renewal of registered trademarks.