Well-known trademark is a proprietary legal concept, which refers to a trademark that enjoys a high reputation in the market, is well-known to the relevant public, and has strong competitiveness.

Well-known trademarks are the highest level of trademark protection. They have high visibility and good business credibility. They enjoy a wider scope of protection and higher legal status. They have huge commercial value and are illegal operations. Key targets for counterfeiting or counterfeiting. Therefore, well-known trademarks enjoy a wider scope of protection, and the penalties for infringement are greater, and enterprises' trademark rights and interests can be better protected through legal means.

Government departments should strengthen the supervision and protection of well-known trademarks, intensify the crackdown on infringements, and maintain market order and fair competition. At the same time, enterprises themselves should strengthen the publicity and promotion of well-known trademarks, improve consumer awareness and trust, and enhance brand value and market competitiveness.

Three protection methods for well-known trademarks:

1. Special protection for well-known trademarks

Ordinary trademarks can only be protected in the categories of goods or services that are approved for registration. Legal protection, and well-known trademarks can obtain varying degrees of cross-category protection; well-known trademarks can resist malicious registration by others, and other companies are not allowed to register well-known trademarks as domain names or company names.

2. Cross-category protection for well-known trademarks

Well-known trademarks can obtain different levels of cross-category protection based on their degree of well-knownness. In actual implementation, well-known trademarks recognized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce are uniformly registered and announced in the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Even if someone applies for a trademark that is identical or similar to a well-known trademark on different or dissimilar goods, the Industry and Commerce Bureau will generally refuse to approve the registration. Well-known trademarks recognized by the judiciary will not receive active protection from the Industrial and Commercial Administration, and their owners can only file lawsuits in court when infringement occurs.

3. Judicial protection of well-known trademarks

If a trademark applied for registration on the same or similar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of someone else’s well-known trademark that has not been registered in China, which is likely to cause confusion, Registration will not be granted and use is prohibited; if a trademark applied for registration for different or dissimilar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of a well-known trademark that has been registered in China by others, misleading the public, and causing the interests of the registrant of the well-known trademark to be potentially harmed, the trademark shall not be registered. Registered and prohibited from use.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Well-known Trademarks