With the increasing emphasis on intellectual property rights, the number of trademark registrations has gradually increased, and more and more companies are facing the risk of their trademarks being "withdrawn". Last year, the "Tsinghua" trademark applied by Tsinghua University was revoked by others because it had not been used for three consecutive years. After all, Tsinghua University is a well-known university in my country. It is very concerned about trademark protection. It has single-handedly fought off many trademark infringements and even protected all categories. It also has a well-known trademark, but who would have thought that it would be withdrawn this time? . So, what exactly is "Withdrawal of Three"? What should you do if you encounter "Withdrawal of Three"? How to file "Withdrawal of Three" against others?

1. What is "Withdrawal of Three"? "Trademark Law" Paragraph 2 of Article 49 stipulates: “If a registered trademark becomes the common name of the goods approved for use or has not been used for three consecutive years without justifiable reasons, any unit or individual may apply to the Trademark Office to cancel the registered trademark. Therefore, as long as it meets In addition to the two conditions of "no legitimate reason" and "no use for three consecutive years", a defensive trademark registered by an individual or enterprise for the purpose of protection (non-use), and has been approved for registration for more than three years but has never been actually used. All idle trademarks face the risk of being “removed” by others.

2. How to avoid trademarks being “removed”?

1. Successful use of trademarks. After registration, the trademark should be operated reasonably and effectively. If it is not used for more than three years, others have the right to apply for trademark withdrawal for three consecutive years.

2. Use the trademark well. Evidence retention: If your trademark is filed for trademark revocation by others, you need to provide evidence to prove that you have used it within three years. The use of the trademark by either the trademark registrant or the trademark licensee can be regarded as a violation of the trademark license. Use of trademarks.

3. Do a good job in trademark monitoring

Trademark monitoring is one of the important ways for enterprises to protect the legitimate rights and interests of trademarks. Through trademark monitoring, not only can trademark trends be grasped in a timely manner, but also The first time to know the trademark renewal time, opposition, "withdrawal", disputes and other trademark abnormalities, so that enterprises can respond quickly and protect their trademark rights.

3. What should I do after "Withdrawal of Three"?

1. Make sure that the address on the trademark registration certificate is correct. The Trademark Office will send the "Notice of Defense for Withdrawal" directly to the trademark owner according to the address on the Trademark Registration Certificate. . If the current address of the trademark owner is different from the address on the trademark registration certificate, the trademark owner may be unable to receive the "Notice of Withdrawal of Three Defenses" and delay the defense, resulting in the trademark being revoked.

2. Provide evidence of trademark use. After accepting the trademark withdrawal application, the Trademark Office will issue a "Notice on Providing Evidence of Use of a Registered Trademark" to the respondent. The respondent should submit to the Trademark Office within two months the use of the trademark on protected goods in the previous three years. /Evidence of use on the service, or proof of legitimate reasons for non-use.

Evidence of use includes: (1) Trademark promotional materials in the past three years (including in newspapers, magazines, online, television, Promotional materials on radio and other media; and promotional leaflets, manuals, etc. produced by the company; company promotions or other promotional materials); (2) Sales invoices, sales contracts, corporate signs, franchise license contracts; (3) The past three years Annual sales scope, sales description, copies of sales invoices, tax declaration certificates, etc.; (4) Statistics of advertising expenses in the past three years (please stamp them with official seal), it is best to provide the contract signed with the advertising company and the corresponding expenses Copy of payment invoice; (5) Relevant media reports, interviews and other materials on the enterprise; (6) Proof of trademark use disclosed by the enterprise in participating in various exhibitions, promotion meetings, etc.: such as exhibition photos, exhibition certificates, payment invoices, etc.; ( 7) Product quality inspection reports with trademark samples; (8) Qualification certificates with corporate trademarks and certificates of honor: including various medals, certificates, honors and titles, etc.

3. Re-register the trademark. Even if the trademark is revoked by the Trademark Office due to "withdrawal", we can still re-register the trademark.

4. How to apply for "withdrawal of the third-party trademark"? When the trademark you like is preemptively registered by others, the only way to obtain the trademark is to apply for "withdrawal of the third-party trademark". You can judge from the following six aspects.

1. Check whether the trademark is in use. If the trademark is in normal use, check whether the trademark is used in a standardized manner, such as whether it is used on approved registered goods or services.

2. Check whether the registrant is a legal person or a natural person. If it is a natural person, the trademark may be idle due to its own subjective factors.

3. Check whether the registered address is consistent. Compare whether the registered address of the trademark is consistent with the actual business address. If they are inconsistent, you may not be able to receive various notifications issued by the Trademark Office in a timely manner. responded and was revoked.

_ 4. Check whether you have business qualifications. Some goods or services involve specific industries and require specific qualifications to operate normally. Such as food and medicine. If you don’t have relevant qualifications, you won’t be able to use your trademark normally.

5. Check the core trademark or the protective trademark. If the trademark to be applied for cancellation is a trademark in the category of the registrant’s main business, the possibility of cancellation is low; if the trademark is in the non-business scope of the registrant, Registered defensive trademarks are more likely to be revoked.

6. Check the registration time of the trademark. Generally speaking, the longer the registration time of the trademark, the lower the possibility of effective management and use of the trademark; the shorter the registration time, the possibility of the trademark being valued and used. relatively higher.