"Zhou Zhu" washing powder passing off as "diao card washing powder"

is the most common form of diluting well-known trademarks. Specifically, weakening refers to the behavior that unauthorized users use well-known trademarks on different or similar goods, which destroys the recognition and distinctiveness of well-known trademarks, dilutes the unique relationship between trademarks and goods, and ultimately damages the commercial value of well-known trademarks. Weakening first destroys the recognition of well-known trademarks. Trademarks should first have the function of distinguishing different goods and services, and ensure that goods or services using the same trademark have the same quality. Consumers think of drinks as soon as they see "COCA-COLA". If all drinks use the "COCA-COLA" trademark, how can consumers identify and choose satisfactory products? Weakening behavior destroys the unique relationship between well-known trademarks and specific goods or services. The owners of well-known trademarks have spent a lot of energy to establish the unique relationship between trademarks and commodities: through long-term use of excellent quality assurance and a lot of advertising, well-known trademarks have absolute significance. At present, there are mainly the following acts of trademark dilution:

1. Fragmentation (blurring) refers to the use of well-known trademarks by unauthorized users on other different or similar goods or services, which separates the connection between the trademark and specific goods or services. For example, the use of the Nestle trademark in clothing and the Pierre Cardin trademark in automobiles diluted the established reputation of the trademark in our bank, which led to the decrease of its commercial value and attractiveness, gradually blurred the distinctiveness and identifiability of its pointing to specific commodities, and diluted people's understanding of linking the trademark with specific commodities.

2. Defamation (or uglification) refers to the use of well-known trademarks by unauthorized users on goods or services with opposite nature and functions or with great differences, thus degrading their reputation. For example, the Coca-Cola trademark is used for pesticides, a well-known cosmetic trademark is used for toilets, and a well-known trademark of a children's toy is used for some sex products. These are all defacing and uglifying the trademark image, damaging the commercial reputation of well-known trademarks or reducing their positive evaluation, so that consumers have a bad impression on the trademark.

3. Misinterpretation means that a well-known trademark is synonymous with a certain commodity or service, so that the trademark becomes the common name of a certain commodity or service, thus losing its due commercial value. For example, misinterpreting "Jeep" as the general name of off-road vehicles, misinterpreting flavor as the general name of monosodium glutamate, misinterpreting freon as the general name of refrigerants, etc., all of these make the distinctiveness and identifiability of trademarks pointing to specific commodities completely lost.

Similar trademark imitation

4. Other acts of illegally exercising the right to use well-known trademarks. If, after legally obtaining the right to use a well-known trademark, the well-known trademark is not used in the agreed way, method and scope, resulting in infringement. For example, in the early 199s, the owner of the "Panda" brand gave the ownership of the "Panda" brand to other manufacturers for their own economic benefits. As a result, some enterprises using the "Panda" brand did not pay attention to quality, which greatly affected the brand's image. And after legally obtaining the exclusive right to use a trademark, it will be discarded and gradually forgotten by people.

It is worth noting that in recent years, there have been some new acts of improper use of well-known trademarks, such as using words identical or similar to other people's well-known trademarks as enterprise names and trade names, or using other people's trademark patterns in the packaging and decoration of their own products, or registering other people's well-known trademarks as their own Chinese domain names or Chinese phonetic domain names. These behaviors will gradually dilute the distinctiveness and identifiability of well-known trademarks and violate the business ethics of honesty and credit.

it should be noted that the anti-dilution protection of trademarks is not absolute, not all unauthorized use of well-known trademarks constitutes "dilution", and the following acts of using well-known trademarks should not constitute "dilution".

(1) Fair application in comparative commercial advertisements, the purpose of which is only to distinguish one's own goods from those marked by well-known trademarks;

(2) non-commercial use;

(3) various forms of news reports and comments;

(4) various forms of prior use, for example, before the trademark became well-known, others had already used it for different or similar goods or services, or for enterprise names, trade names, domain names, etc., and the trademark continued to be used within the original scope after it became well-known. If all unauthorized use is regarded as dilution indiscriminately, it will go to the other extreme and cause a kind of "knowledge hegemony". Well-known trademarks have high popularity and reputation, which indicates excellent quality and plays an important role in marking and guiding in the market, so they often become the first choice for illegal operators to infringe trademark rights. The object of dilution first includes well-known trademarks, which has no objection in the theoretical circle, legislation and judicial practice. At present, the controversial issue is the identification standard of well-known trademarks. The so-called well-known trademark refers to a registered trademark that enjoys a high reputation in the market and is well known to the relevant public according to Article 2 of China's Interim Provisions on the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks.

whether the objects of dilution should include well-known trademarks is controversial at present. Trademarks are divided into general trademarks, well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks according to their popularity. No trademark will become a well-known trademark as soon as it applies for registration. There is a process for the cultivation and identification of well-known trademarks, which are generally well-known trademarks before they are recognized as well-known trademarks. If the well-known trademark is not given anti-dilution protection, it will cause many problems, because at this stage, because the trademark is not a well-known trademark, the trademark law does not prohibit others from using the trademark in other different or similar goods or services, and during this period, the trademark is relatively well-known, so many operators will register the trademark across categories. Once the trademark is recognized as a well-known trademark, the continued use of the trademark by others will actually dilute the well-known trademark. If the use is prohibited, it will be unfair, infringe on the prior use rights of others and cause huge losses to other obligees.

classic "approximate trademark" controversy

In order to avoid this situation, it is very necessary to give anti-dilution protection to well-known trademarks. At present, it is also necessary to give anti-dilution protection to well-known trademarks for the protection of national brands in China. The recognition of well-known trademarks generally depends on their international registration. Although there is no unified standard for well-known trademarks at present, it is generally considered that their standards are lower than those of well-known trademarks, as long as they are well-known in a country. The recognition of well-known trademarks in China should, of course, be based on their popularity in China. At present, many operators in China have a weak sense of trademark, and they do not apply for international registration after being registered in China. They are well-known in China but not internationally. When some foreign well-known trademarks are not well-known in China but ask for the treatment of well-known trademarks, they can be rejected on the grounds of anti-dilution protection of well-known trademarks, thus protecting China's national brands. It is worth noting that in recent years, the object of trademark anti-dilution protection in developed countries has a tendency to expand. For example, Germany's new trademark law, which came into effect in 1995, not only gives anti-dilution protection to well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks, but also extends anti-dilution protection to commercial marks and stipulates specific conditions. Another example is the French Intellectual Property Code in 1991, which clearly extended the object of anti-dilution from the usual well-known trademarks to famous trademarks, and then extended to the scope of non-trademarks, such as company names or shop names, well-known manufacturers' names and plaques nationwide, and names of origin. In order to resist the "knowledge hegemony" of developed countries and protect national brands, it is extremely necessary for China to expand the scope of trademark dilution protection. First, expand the scope of anti-desalination protection. Although the newly revised Trademark Law provides cross-class protection for well-known trademarks, which provides a legal basis for anti-dilution protection of well-known trademarks, the scope of anti-dilution protection is too narrow, and well-known trademarks and other corporate logos are not included in the scope of anti-dilution protection. The recognition conditions of well-known trademarks are strict and the procedures are cumbersome. Enterprises often have to pay a large cost to obtain the recognition of well-known trademarks, while the recognition of well-known trademarks is relatively simple and low-cost. Incorporating well-known trademarks into anti-dilution protection can make it easier for enterprises to obtain protection. It is precisely because of this that developed countries have continuously expanded the scope of anti-dilution protection. If China does not expand the scope of anti-dilution protection, it will not be able to fight against the "knowledge hegemony" of developed countries and the national brands that cannot be protected. At present, we should strengthen the theoretical research on well-known trademarks and work out the conditions and procedures for the recognition of well-known trademarks as soon as possible, so as to facilitate the operation.

Secondly, the specific manifestations, identification conditions, burden of proof and legal responsibilities of trademark dilution are stipulated by legislation.

Third, the joint trademark and defensive trade mark system should be stipulated by legislation. A joint trademark refers to a number of similar trademarks registered by a trademark owner on the same or similar goods. Among these trademarks, the first registered or mainly used trademark is the main trademark, and the rest are joint trademarks. Defensive trade mark is a well-known trademark owner who has registered several identical trademarks on different kinds of goods or services. The original trademark was mainly used, and the rest were defensive trade mark. Joint trademark and defensive trade mark system are important systems for trademark anti-dilution protection, which have not been stipulated in China trademark law so far. In practice, some enterprises adopt the method of comprehensive registration in order to achieve the legal effect of registering joint trademarks and defensive trade mark. However, the cost of doing so is relatively high, and the risk of revoking their registered trademarks due to "stopping using for three consecutive years" in Article 44 of the Trademark Law should be taken. Therefore, joint trademarks and defensive trade mark system should be legislated as soon as possible to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of trademark owners.

fourthly, intensify the crackdown on trademark dilution through the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Trademark dilution is not only a trademark infringement, but also an unfair competition. Due to the limitation of anti-dilution theory, trademark law can only prohibit this kind of infringement, but it can not be punished. However, as an unfair competition that harms society, it can be punished through the provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and the protection of diluted trademarks can be strengthened.

(2) Enterprises should strengthen the self-protection of trademarks and prevent trademark dilution

Traditionally, many enterprises in China have a weak awareness of trademark protection, which has caused great losses to the country and enterprises. At present, enterprises should strengthen their awareness of trademark protection, carefully plan their trademark strategy, take trademark protection as a systematic project and take various measures to prevent trademark dilution.

First of all, unregistered trademarks should be registered in time. In the absence of joint trademark and defensive trade mark system in China, comprehensive registration can be adopted to prevent cybersquatting.

Secondly, the design of corporate logos should be unified, so that trademarks and corporate names, trade names, plaques, packaging and decoration, domain names and other corporate logos can be unified, which is not only conducive to promoting corporate trademarks, improving corporate visibility, but also conducive to preventing some people with ulterior motives from taking advantage of loopholes to register corporate logos.

thirdly, with the development of economy and technology, the space for enterprises to survive and develop is constantly expanding. At present, an important development trend is the development of enterprises in cyberspace, which has produced a series of new rights, such as domain name rights and IP addresses. These new enterprises should be registered in time to occupy a foothold for the development of enterprises in cyberspace.

the classic "similar trademark" crocodile dispute

Fourth, we should be cautious in licensing trademarks. In the past few years, there have been two situations in licensing trademarks, which have caused serious trademark dilution or even degradation. Enterprises should be vigilant. First, some enterprises use their well-known trademarks or well-known trademarks to invest in joint ventures with foreign parties. After the joint venture, the foreign parties abandoned the trademark and only used their own trademarks. After a few years, the trademark was unknown, resulting in serious degradation of the trademark. For example, Guangzhou's "Jiehua" soap was awarded the title of "Head & Shoulders" and "Pan Ting" after its joint venture with the United States. Second, some enterprises blindly expand the use license, regardless of the quality of the products of the users, which results in the deterioration of the trademark image and corporate reputation, leading to serious dilution of the trademark. Because law enforcement agencies have various powers entrusted by the state, their proactive law enforcement will often get twice the result with half the effort.

First of all, administrative organs should strengthen trademark management and increase administrative punishment for trademark dilution. In the management of trademark registration, the industrial and commercial departments should strictly limit the qualification and scope of trademark declaration, strictly grasp the conditions and procedures for registering trademarks, especially pay attention to examining whether the trademarks to be registered conflict with prior rights, increase the protection of well-known trademarks and well-known trademarks, and strive to put an end to all identical and similar trademark registrations. As the main body of trademark law enforcement and anti-unfair competition law enforcement, industrial and commercial authorities can comprehensively use various means to strengthen the investigation and punishment of trademark dilution, especially to intensify the confiscation, resolutely abandon local protectionism and treat trademarks everywhere equally.

Secondly, judicial relief is the last line of defense for social justice. Judicial organs should adhere to the principles of fairness and efficiency, improve judicial technology and the level of handling cases, correctly grasp the constitutive elements of trademark dilution, and try cases and execute judgments in time, so that obligees can obtain fair and timely judicial relief.