according to article 8 of the trademark law, any sign that can distinguish the goods of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations from those of others, including words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs, color combinations and sounds, and the combination of the above elements, can apply for registration as a trademark.
to apply for trademark registration and transfer in the name of a natural person, in addition to submitting the Application for Trademark Registration and trademark patterns in accordance with relevant regulations, the following matters should also be noted: 1. Individual industrial and commercial households can apply for trademark registration in the name of the applicant or in the name of the person in charge registered in the license.
when applying in the name of the person in charge, copies of the following materials shall be submitted: (1) the identity card of the person in charge; (2) Business license.
2. An individual partnership may file an application for trademark registration in the name of the applicant or in the name of all partners.
in the name of all partners, copies of the following materials shall be submitted when applying: (1) the ID card of the partner; (2) Business license; (3) Partnership agreement.
3. Rural contracted business households may file an application for trademark registration in the name of the contracting party, and a copy of the following materials shall be submitted when applying: (1) ID card of the contracting party; (2) Contract.
4. Other natural persons who are legally allowed to engage in business activities may file an application for trademark registration in the name of the business operator as published in the registration documents issued by the relevant administrative authorities, and copies of the following materials shall be submitted when applying: (1) the identity card of the business operator; (2) Registration documents issued by relevant administrative authorities.
5. The scope of goods and services for which a natural person applies for trademark registration shall be limited to the business scope approved by the natural person in the business license or relevant registration documents, or to the self-operated agricultural and sideline products.
VI. The Trademark Office will not accept an application for trademark registration that does not conform to Article 4 of the Trademark Law and notify the applicant in writing.
if the applicant provides false materials to obtain trademark registration, the trademark office shall revoke the registered trademark.
VII. If the transferee is a natural person, the application for trademark assignment shall be handled with reference to the above matters.
trademark registration application procedures 1. Registration preparation Choose a registration method. One registration method is to apply for registration at the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; Another way of registration is to entrust an experienced trademark agency to organize agency services.
2. Prepare materials and prepare 5 pieces of trademark patterns (5 pieces of colored trademarks with specified colors, 1 piece of black-and-white ink draft), the length and width of which are not more than 1 cm and not less than 5 cm. If the direction of trademark patterns is unclear, arrows should be used to indicate the upper and lower parts; If an individual files an application, he/she needs to show his/her ID card and submit a copy together with a copy of his/her individual business license, and the business scope is consistent with the registered trademark (abolished in May 216, and self-employed individuals will no longer review the business license scope); If an enterprise applies, a copy of the Business License of the enterprise shall be presented and submitted; An application for trademark registration with the official seal of the unit.
3. Start the application 4. According to the classification of goods and services, the goods and services are divided into 45 categories, including 34 categories of goods and 11 categories of services.
when applying for registration, the categories of goods or services that use trademarks shall be determined according to the classification in the classification table of goods and services; Where the same applicant uses the same trademark on different categories of goods, he shall apply for registration according to different categories.
5. Determination of the date of application This is the most important point: since China adopts the principle of prior application in trademark registration, once you have a trademark dispute with other enterprises, the enterprise with the prior application date will be protected by law.
therefore, it is very important to establish the application date, which is based on the date when the Trademark Office receives the application.
there are three procedures: trademark examination, preliminary examination announcement and registration announcement.
it should be emphasized that a trademark that has passed the preliminary examination by the Trademark Office can only be registered after three months without any objection, and the trademark is protected by law.
the period of validity of a registered trademark is ten years, counting from the date of approval of registration.
after the expiration of the validity period, if it is necessary to continue to use it, you can apply for trademark renewal registration.
6. After obtaining the trademark registration certificate, the Trademark Office will issue a certificate to the registrant.
if it is organized through an agent, the agent sends the Trademark Registration Certificate to the registrant; In case of direct registration, the registrant should go to the Trademark Office to obtain the trademark certificate within three months after receiving the Notice of Obtaining the Trademark Registration Certificate, and at the same time, he should also bring: a letter of introduction to obtain the trademark registration certificate, the ID card and photocopy of the witness, the original copy of the business license and the photocopy stamped by the local industrial and commercial department, the notice of obtaining the trademark registration certificate, and the certificate of change issued by the industrial and commercial department if the name of the trademark registrant changes.
note: it usually takes about one and a half years for a new trademark to be applied for smoothly, including about three months for application acceptance and formal examination, nine months for substantive examination, three months for objection, and two months for approval announcement and issuance.
(In case of rejection and objection, the time will be extended) 7. Instructions for trademark registration If a natural person, legal person or other organization needs to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods or services it produces, manufactures, processes, selects or distributes, it shall file an application for trademark registration with the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Office) according to law.
in a narrow sense, the application for trademark registration only refers to the application for trademark registration of goods and services, the application for international registration of trademarks, the application for registration of certification trademarks, the application for registration of collective trademarks and the application for registration of special signs.
in a broad sense, the application for trademark registration includes not only the contents of the application for trademark registration in a narrow sense, but also the application for change, renewal and transfer of registration, the application for objection, the application for filing the trademark license contract, and other trademark registration matters.
trademark registration principles trademark registration should follow the following principles: 1. The principle of combining voluntary registration with compulsory registration.
most trademarks in China are registered voluntarily.
producers and operators of commodities (mainly cigarettes, cigars and packaged cut tobacco) that are required to use registered trademarks according to national laws and administrative regulations must apply for trademark registration. Without approval, commodities may not be sold in the market.
2. the principle of salience.
a trademark applied for registration shall have distinctive features and be easy to identify, and shall not conflict with other people's prior legal rights (such as design patent right, name right and copyright).
3. Principle of trademark legality.
a trademark applying for registration shall not use a sign prohibited by law.
registered trademarks using geographical names continue to be valid.
without authorization, the agent or representative registers the trademark of the principal or the principal in his own name. If the principal or the principal objects, it will not be registered and the use will be prohibited.
if a trademark contains a geographical indication of a commodity, and the trademark does not originate from the area marked by the mark, which misleads the public, it shall not be registered and its use shall be prohibited; However, those registered in good faith shall continue to be valid.
4. when reviewing and announcing the trademark registration application, we should adhere to the principle that the application is first and the use is first.
where two or more applicants for trademark registration apply for registration with the same or similar trademarks on the same commodity or similar commodities, the trademark that applied earlier shall be preliminarily examined and announced; If the application is made on the same day, the earlier trademark shall be preliminarily examined and announced, and the application of others shall be rejected without announcement.
5. The principle of prohibiting cybersquatting.
when applying for trademark registration, you may not pre-empt the registration of a trademark that has been used by others and has certain influence.
trademarks that are used and have certain influence.