Trademark law is to protect the rights of trademark owners and regulate market order. How do you understand Article 11 of the Trademark Law? We will bring you relevant answers. Article 11 The following signs shall not be registered as trademarks: (1) Only the common name, graphics, and model of the product; (2) Only directly indicating the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the product ; (3) Lack of distinctive features. If the signs listed in the preceding paragraph acquire distinctive features through use and are easy to identify, they may be registered as trademarks.

Interpretation This article is a regulation on prohibited signs of registered trademarks. 1. According to Article 9 of this Law, the trademark applied for registration shall have distinctive features and be easy to identify. Recognizability is the basic characteristic of a trademark. Producers and operators use trademarks to promote their own goods and services, and consumers use trademarks to distinguish the goods and services of different producers and operators. If a trademark does not have distinctive features, it will not be able to fulfill the function of a trademark, and it will not be a trademark. 2. Paragraph 1 of this article stipulates that any mark that only has the common name, graphics, model of the product, or that only directly represents the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the product and lacks distinctive features shall not be used as a mark. Trademark registration. Its purpose is to ensure the recognizability of the trademark. Because the marks listed in this article are registered as trademarks, they lack distinctiveness and cannot distinguish the goods and services of different producers and operators. For example, "teapot" is a common name for a tea set. If it is used as a trademark, it lacks distinctiveness. Consumers cannot tell which company produces the "teapot" through this trademark. In addition, if the signs listed in this article are allowed to be registered as trademarks and used exclusively, it will be unfair to other producers and operators of similar goods. 3. There are two ways to obtain the distinctiveness of a trademark: one is to make the trademark distinctive through the careful design of the trademark components; the other is to gain public recognition through use, making the trademark distinctive. In practice, there are indeed some trademarks that were originally non-distinctive and have become distinctive after use, such as "Liangmianzhen" toothpaste, "Sanqi" Diedai Pills, etc. It is a common international practice to grant registration protection to trademarks that have acquired distinctiveness through use. Article 15, Paragraph 1, of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that even if some marks cannot originally distinguish the relevant goods or services, members can confirm whether they can be registered based on the identification they have acquired through use. This provision indicates that a mark that is not distinctive but has acquired distinctiveness through use can be registered as a trademark. According to common international practices and combined with my country's practice, paragraph 2 of this article stipulates that signs listed in the previous paragraph that have acquired distinctive features through use and are easy to identify may be registered as trademarks. This provision not only clarifies that signs cannot be registered as trademarks, but also makes up for the past shortcomings of being distinctive through use and not being protected by registration. It will have a positive impact on strengthening my country's trademark registration management, maintaining fair competition, and encouraging enterprises to create famous brands. promotion effect.