What is a trademark?

(1) The concept of trademark

A trademark refers to any product that can distinguish the goods of a natural person, legal person or other organization from the goods of others. Visible signs, including text, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs and color combinations, as well as combinations of the above elements, are used for commodities to distinguish the same type produced or operated by different commodity producers or operators. or a distinctive mark on similar goods. Broadly speaking, marks used in the service industry are also trademarks because their functions are similar to commodity trademarks and are used to distinguish different sources of services. Trademarks have the following characteristics:

1. Trademarks are marks used for goods or services

In various fields such as social politics, economy, military, culture, science, etc., people use them for different purposes. Use different signs for different purposes, such as national emblems, road signs, etc.

Their unique characteristic is that they have the function of distinguishing, representing and symbolizing something. Among various signs, a trademark is a mark used on goods or services. The goods using trademarks are movable products that can be circulated through the market, mainly including daily consumer goods and production consumer goods. Real estate such as houses and other ground attachments do not use trademarks.

2. A trademark is a mark that distinguishes the source of goods or services

The basic function of a trademark is to distinguish the same or similar goods produced or distributed by different companies. The so-called identical goods refer to goods with the same general name, or goods with different names but referring to the same object. The so-called similar goods refer to goods with different names but with the same characteristics in terms of raw materials, uses or functions. With a mark like a trademark, it is easy to identify the different origins of goods as well as their quality, performance or characteristics.

3. A trademark is a man-made mark with distinctive characteristics consisting of words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs and colors, and a combination of the above elements.

Because a trademark has distinctive characteristics , enabling ordinary consumers to identify products through trademarks and choose to purchase them. A trademark is a mark intentionally attached to goods or product packaging through human design. It must be used on a specific object to have the meaning of distinguishing its source. The main ways to attach a trademark are: using trademark labels, printing the trademark on the goods, etc.

(2) The concept of trademark rights

1. Concept

Trademark rights refer to the rights enjoyed by trademark registrants over their registered trademarks. It is a legal right granted to the owner of a registered trademark by the national trademark management agency in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law. my country's Trademark Law stipulates that trademarks approved and registered by the Trademark Office are registered trademarks, including commodity trademarks, service trademarks, collective trademarks, and certification trademarks; trademark registrants enjoy exclusive rights to trademarks and are protected by law. It can be seen that in my country, the trademark rights enjoyed by trademark owners are obtained in accordance with the registration principle, that is, after approval and registration by the national trademark management agency. For registered trademarks, once others commit infringement, the trademark owner has the right to request protection from relevant authorities and hold the infringer legally responsible. As for unregistered trademarks, as long as they are not prohibited from being used as trademarks, they are allowed to be used, but users do not enjoy trademark rights and are not protected by trademark law.

2. Characteristics

As a kind of intellectual property right, trademark right is the wealth of the trademark owner. Trademark rights not only have the most unique characteristics of intellectual property, but are also different from other intellectual property rights in content. Its legal characteristics mainly include the following aspects:

(1) Exclusiveness. Exclusivity means that a trademark owner has the exclusive right to use its registered trademark. Once acquired, this right is exclusive and cannot be interfered with by others. Others are not allowed to use the registered trademark without the permission of the trademark owner.

(2) Temporality. Refers to the validity period of trademark rights. During its validity period, the trademark right is protected by law. After the validity period, the trademark right is no longer protected by law. Our country stipulates that the validity period of trademark rights is 10 years. It also stipulates that the trademark owner can request for renewal when the period expires.

(3) Regionality. Trademark rights are strictly territorial.

That is to say, trademark rights can only be protected by law in the country that grants the right, and will not have legal effect in other countries. If you need legal protection from other countries, you must apply for trademark registration separately in accordance with the laws of other countries.

(4) Trademark rights only include property rights, not personal rights.