1

Main reform measures

Commenting on the reform announcements that have been issued, the main reform measures are as follows:

Measure 1: Simplification of application materials

First, starting from February 1, agencies that have submitted applications for digital certificates do not need to submit paper materials. They can submit user registration applications through the online application system. Once approved, a trademark digital certificate will be issued.

Secondly, starting from February 7, if an applicant applies for trademark registration with a color combination or colored pattern, he or she does not need to submit a black and white draft of the trademark pattern when submitting the trademark registration application. If required for subsequent review, the Trademark Office will notify The applicant shall submit additional supplements.

Third, starting from February 7, when applicants who submit paper applications apply for changes to multiple trademarks at the same time, on the basis of the original requirement that they only need to provide one change certification document, the relevant Only one copy of identity document and power of attorney is required. The applicant should indicate in the change application form the specific application documents in which the above-mentioned application documents are located. The entrustment authority stated in the power of attorney should include all the trademarks for which the applicant is applying for change this time. Applicants may refer to the above regulations when handling other application matters such as registration applications, transfers, renewals, cancellations, license filings, corrections, and reissues of registration certificates for multiple trademarks at the same time.

In the early years, the author handled 700 trademark changes under the name of the same applicant, which required the submission of 700 business licenses, 700 copies of change certificates, 700 power of attorney, and 700 change applications. Now, you only need 1 copy of the license, 1 business license, and 1 power of attorney. This undoubtedly creates great convenience for applicants.

Fourthly, starting from February 7, when an applicant changes the name and address of the registrant of multiple Madrid internationally registered trademarks, he or she can do so by submitting a change application; When transferring multiple Madrid international registered trademarks to the same transferee, you can submit one transfer application. This measure is more optimized. You only need to provide one change application for multiple changes. We hope that domestic changes and transfers will be implemented according to this measure. We also hope that Madrid’s new measures for changes and transfers will be implemented as soon as possible for international renewal, cancellation, and licensing in Madrid. Other application matters such as filing, correction and reissuance of registration certificates.

Measure 2: Simplify the process.

First, the trademark registration application submitted directly or online by the trademark registration applicant since January 1, 2017 (excluding trademark registration applications accepted by the local trademark acceptance window), after the trademark is approved for registration, The "Trademark Registration Certificate" will be sent directly to the trademark registration applicant, and the "Notice of Obtaining the Trademark Registration Certificate" will no longer be sent. The new method of issuing trademark registration certificates will be implemented from January 11, 2018.

Second, starting from February 9, the review and examination procedures for existing trademark change applications will be merged, and from April 1, the review and review procedures for existing trademark renewal applications will be merged. After the merger, the process of issuing non-acceptance notices and acceptance notices during the book review process was eliminated to greatly improve review efficiency.

Measure 3: Service improvement

First, starting from February 1, the reception time for online trademark applications will be extended from "08:00 to 16:30" to "08: 00 to 20:00", the system opening days are statutory working days and holidays (except National Day, the seven-day Spring Festival holiday and system maintenance days).

Second, starting from February 14, when applicants who submit online applications apply for changes to multiple trademarks under their names, the online application system will automatically bring in the filled-in application information and uploaded documents. The next application reduces repeated filling and uploading and improves the efficiency and convenience of online application.

When submitting change applications online before, the same applicant had to enter and upload the files one by one for multiple trademark change applications. If there are more than 700 submissions like the ones submitted before, the agent will really be overwhelmed and it will be very hard to copy and paste.

Third, starting from March 1, newly applied trademark digital certificates will be produced and issued on a weekly basis, with a production cycle of 1 to 2 months. Trademark agencies with an average daily online application volume of more than 50 can apply for a second trademark digital certificate, and trademark agencies with more than 100 online applications can apply for a third trademark digital certificate. Each trademark agency can apply for a maximum of three trademark digital certificates.

Fourthly, starting from April 1, the Trademark Office will complete the first review of the change application within one month from the date of receipt of the trademark change application; starting from June 1, the Trademark Office will complete the first review of the change application within one month. Initial review of renewal application.

2

Suggestions on trademark reform

Overall, the current trademark reform work has achieved great results and is highly anticipated by applicants and agencies. But we also hope to introduce a large number of more powerful and more practical measures as soon as possible to solve the deep-seated contradictions that restrict the efficiency of trademark registration. The specific suggestions are as follows:

Suggestion 1: Comprehensively simplify application materials

★ For the same applicant, handle registration applications, changes, transfers, renewals, cancellations, etc. of multiple trademarks at the same time. For other application matters such as license filing, correction and reissuance of registration certificates, please refer to Madrid application material requirements. You only need to submit one power of attorney and one application;

★ There is no need to provide multiple power of attorney. , multiple applications;

★ To further streamline administration and delegate power, there is no need to provide a copy of the applicant’s identity certificate.

Recommendation 2: Comprehensively simplify the book review process

★ Other applications such as transfer, cancellation, license filing, correction and reissue of registration certificates also have changes and renewals in the book review process mentioned above. It is hoped that the application review process such as transfer, cancellation, license filing, correction and reissuance of registration certificates will be gradually cancelled;

★ Through the correction process for subsequent review, applicants can be given more choices and conveniences, while shortening the review the term.

Recommendation 3: Comprehensively optimize the online electronic application function module

★ First, when processing a change application, the filled-in application information and uploaded documents will automatically be carried into the next application. To reduce repeated filling and uploading, we hope that the automatic import function can be implemented as soon as possible to other application matters such as registration applications, transfers, renewals, cancellations, and license filings.

★ Second, trademark registration requires multiple people to operate and multiple reviews. For agencies, with an average of 100 trademarks per day, giving 3 digital certificates is not enough to solve the current dilemma. The standard of 100 applications per day does not fully take into account the reality that the number of daily applications is always high and low.

I hope that more digital certificates will be given based on the total number of applications. For example, if the total number of applications is less than 5,000, 3 digital certificates will be given; if the total number of applications is 5,000-10,000, 5 digital certificates will be given; If the total number of applications is 10,000-20,000, 7 digital certificates will be given; if the total number of applications is more than 20,000, 10 digital certificates will be given.

★ The third is to promote online applications for trademark review, opposition, and cancellation of non-use for three years as soon as possible.

Recommendation 4: Adjust the registration application acceptance process and shorten the blind period for external network searches

★ According to the current work process, a registration application needs to go through document collection, document review, scanning and entry, and verification. The acceptance notice will not be issued until the payment is made, so it currently takes about a month to issue the registration application acceptance notice.

I hope to adjust the formal review process. Accept the application first and then review the document. If the document fails to pass the review, a notice of correction will be issued. If the correction fails, it will be regarded as abandoned and the registration fee will not be refunded. The time for issuing the acceptance notice can be effectively compressed to within one week. At the same time, the registration application information can be publicized on the official trademark website as soon as possible, significantly shortening the blind period for external search, so that applicants can avoid the risk of rejection.

Recommendation 5: Comprehensively promote electronic delivery of official trademark documents

★ At present, trademark registration application acceptance notices and preliminary approval announcements are delivered electronically, while other documents are still sent by post office. service. It requires a lot of manpower and material resources from the trademark registration authority, is not efficient, and also creates storage problems for applicants.

We hope that the rest of the official trademark business documents can be converted from paper mailing to electronic delivery as soon as possible. Using cloud technology, each business document is delivered in a compressed package when electronically sent. Do not mix it with other business documents, making it easy to check, download and manage. The rejection notice should be delivered electronically every week instead of only once a month. This will allow the agent and the applicant to check emails regularly to avoid omissions that delay the rejection review period. It also allows the applicant sufficient time to analyze and handle the trademark registration rejection review. , reduce the economic expenditure burden of enterprises.

Recommendation 6: Adjust the objection and withdrawal acceptance system

★ According to the current processing procedures, trademark objections and trademark withdrawals are accepted by the Trademark Office. If you are not satisfied with the objection ruling or withdrawal ruling, A review can be submitted to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Since trademark objections and trademark withdrawals all involve confirmation of trademark rights, all parties hope to obtain an effective ruling as soon as possible in order to determine trademark use and publicity plans.

The current handling process is not conducive to the rapid resolution of cases and does not meet the requirements of the current economic situation. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce plans to study shortening the legal period for objection applications from 3 months to 2 months, and shortening the period for supplementary evidence from 3 months to 2 months. Although the time is shortened by two months compared with the current period, it still cannot effectively shorten the trademark confirmation period.

It is recommended that trademark objections and trademark withdrawal applications be accepted by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. If you are dissatisfied with the objection ruling or withdrawal ruling, you can submit an administrative lawsuit to the court. This can effectively shorten the trademark confirmation period.

Recommendation 7: Develop a supporting system to curb malicious trademark squatting

★ At present, the Trademark Office has adopted a variety of measures to curb the problem of malicious trademark squatting:

First, from Measures such as early review, centralized review of combined cases, and strict application of laws will be adopted in the review and opposition process, and measures such as strict and expeditious trial of large-scale cases of malicious trademark registration will be adopted to ensure that the focus of combating malicious registration is moved forward;

< p>The second is to add well-known trademarks in the trademark examination database and strictly control the examination standards in the same category;

The third is to use the big data analysis function of trademark registration to screen out suspects of malicious trademark registration , establish a blacklist of suspected trademark squatters and their agents, automatically trigger in the trademark database and alert the examiner.

The above measures have achieved certain results, but supporting measures need to be formulated to better curb squatting. It is recommended to add a “mandatory defense system” and a “loss compensation system” to objections and invalidation applications. If the trademark applicant or owner does not respond to the lawsuit, the trademark will be deemed to have been abandoned. If either party loses the case, it will be required to bear the reasonable expenses paid by the winning party. If the losing party fails to pay, the winning party may seek compensation through civil litigation procedures.

Recommendation 8: Develop an obligation system for the use of registered trademarks

★ In order to effectively prevent trademark hoarding and register trademarks for trading, it is necessary to increase the number of trademark rights holders within a certain period of time after registration and Obligation to provide evidence of use at the time of renewal. Although Article 49 of the current Trademark Law stipulates that anyone can submit a cancellation application for cessation of use for three consecutive years to the Trademark Office, the applicant is required to pay a cancellation fee. This is equivalent to turning an enterprise or individual into a registered trademark gatekeeper, and the role is misplaced. .

It is recommended to refer to international practice. Every five years after a trademark is approved for registration, evidence of use or a statement of non-use must be provided to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. If the trademark is not submitted or the submission does not meet the legal requirements upon review, it will be ruled that the trademark will be revoked.

Recommendation 9: Abolish the relative review system

★ The large number of idle trademarks currently constitutes an obstacle to trademark registration and hinders economic development. Whether a trademark is similar or not is a private dispute, and the trademark authority should play the role of adjudication. Relative grounds examination, that is, trademark similarity examination, will inevitably make the trademark authority passive due to objections and invalidity. It is recommended to cancel the relative review of trademark registration applications by the trademark authorities, that is, to change the active relative review conducted by the trademark authorities in the past to the passive review by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board in the opposition and dispute procedures.