In recent years, under the call of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation", the vast land has continued to emerge and stir up the national entrepreneurial spirit and innovative genes. Today, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has also contributed to this new wave of grassroots entrepreneurship. It issued the "Opinions of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Vigorously Promoting the Reform of Facilitating Trademark Registration" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") issued on July 14 this year. , will successively launch reforms in various provinces and cities, across departments, and in multiple industries.

The implementation of this "Opinion" shows the determination of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to solve the contradiction between the rapidly growing number of trademark applications and insufficient examination power. It also reflects the weak informatization level of the current trademark examination system and the single channel for trademark application. , service channels are not smooth enough and other problems actually exist. Therefore, it is imperative to facilitate trademark registration.

However, it is also extremely important to correctly interpret the specific content of the "Opinions" and rationally judge its impact on future trademark registration, stimulating market vitality, and promoting mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Now, the author wants to judge the future trademark registration trends and its impact on the trademark agency industry from the interpretation of the content of the "Opinions".

1. By liberalizing local acceptance and examination outside Beijing, the advantages of the Beijing Examination Center will be weakened

The content of the "Opinions" calls for broadening the geographical channels for trademark applications:

(1) Entrust localities to accept trademark registration applications. Local industrial and commercial and market supervision departments are entrusted by the Trademark Office to set up trademark acceptance offices in the local government affairs hall or registration hall to handle trademark registration application acceptance and other services on their behalf. In 2016, pilot projects were launched in Ya'an, Sichuan, Taizhou, Zhejiang and other places, and will be gradually added based on the pilot situation.

(2) Establish a trademark examination collaboration center outside Beijing. Based on the level of regional economic development and the scale of trademark applications, we will rationally deploy the trademark examination and cooperation centers outside Beijing and carry out pilot work on establishing trademark review collaboration centers. The Trademark Examination Collaboration Center is entrusted by the Trademark Office to handle trademark examination and other services. The pilot project started in 2016 and will be added in due course according to the pilot situation and business needs.

Interpretation:

(1) Changed the single channel for trademark applications that must be accepted by the Trademark Registration Hall of the Trademark Office, although it has not yet been clearly opened to which administrative regions of cities, counties, and townships , but it has greatly facilitated ordinary people who want to apply for trademark registration personally, and they can handle the processing nearby.

(2) Changed the situation where only the examination and collaboration center in Beijing is responsible for trademark registration and examination, and added trademark examination and collaboration centers in some cities outside Beijing, which can divert the original trademark registration and examination work in Beijing in the form of divided areas. , thereby shortening the trademark review cycle.

2. Increase investment in informatization and electronics, and open the fast track for review

In the "Opinions", it is required to expand online application methods and channels, simplify the process, and shorten the processing time. :

(4) Promote online application. Online applications will be expanded from being open only to trademark agencies to all applicants; online applications will only be accepted for trademark registration applications and gradually expanded to trademark business applications such as trademark renewal, transfer, cancellation, and change. Starting from 2017, applicants can apply for trademark registration through the Internet, at the local trademark acceptance office, or at the registration hall of the Trademark Office.

(5) Optimize the trademark registration process. By adjusting internal procedures and other methods, the time for issuance of notices of acceptance of trademark registration applications has been shortened from about 6 months to within 3 months. Simplify some trademark registration application materials and procedures. Clean up the trademark document format and streamline trademark publishing. Open a fast review channel for registered trademark follow-up business.

(7) Gradually promote the electronicization of the entire trademark registration process. Reform the way trademark documents are sent and received, and actively promote electronic trademark registration certificates and electronic delivery. Open the trademark database and guide local industrial and commercial and market supervision departments to use trademark database information to strengthen trademark supervision. Strengthen the construction of the internal office platform and the social service platform, improve the trademark network service experience, and promote the accelerated upgrade of online inquiry, online application, and online announcement systems.

Interpretation:

(4) The liberalization of online applications for individual applicants enables individual applications to transcend geographical restrictions, reduce time and costs, and gradually reach business categories. Gradually liberalize, so that everyone can apply, trademarks can be handled by multiple businesses and through multiple channels.

(5)(7) By shortening the acceptance time requirements, the entire registration process will be electronic, networked, and informatized, making the entire process more orderly and hassle-free.

Impact: The total number of trademark applications will surge, and the growth rate of the agency industry will slow down

Based on the above, with the further impact of the implementation of the "Opinions", Beijing's original acceptance and The geographical advantage of examination will gradually weaken, and the advantages of trademark agencies will also weaken. The number of trademark registrations handled by individuals will surge after the implementation of facilitation. However, the development of the trademark agency industry will not stop growing, but the growth rate will slow down.

The "Opinions" aim to expand application channels, simplify process procedures, improve mechanism supervision, improve trademark public service levels, and promote the development of brand economy.

In today's world where opportunities and challenges coexist, each trademark agency's future plans must improve its professionalism, weaken its simple assistance function, and strengthen its strategic think tank function in order to have unique competitiveness. Trademark agency trademark registration