Well-known trademark concept

What does well-known trademark mean? What is the concept of well-known trademark? Let’s take a look at the concept of well-known trademark brought to you by the editor below. Maybe there is what you need.

What is a well-known trademark?

A well-known trademark refers to a trademark that enjoys a high reputation in the market and is well known to the relevant public. If a trademark for a product or service enjoys a high reputation in the market, it means that the product or service is favored by many consumers, and it can bring huge economic benefits to the registrant and user of the trademark. Therefore, the number of infringement disputes involving well-known trademarks continues to increase, and the protection of well-known trademarks has become an important area of ??concern for both international and domestic authorities.

How to protect well-known trademarks

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization have made special provisions for the protection of well-known trademarks. Article 6bis, paragraph 1, of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property stipulates that if the competent authority of the country in which the trademark is registered or used considers that a trademark has become a well-known trademark in that country and is owned by a person entitled to enjoy the benefits of this Convention, and When another trademark constitutes a copy, imitation or translation of the well-known trademark and is used on the same or similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion, the member states of this Union have the right to refuse or Cancel the registration of the other trademark and prohibit its use. This provision also applies to trademarks whose main part is copied from a well-known trademark and is likely to cause confusion. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights extends the protection of well-known trademarks to service marks, as well as dissimilar goods or services. Article 16 of the agreement stipulates that the owner of a registered trademark shall have the exclusive right to prevent any third party from using marks that are identical or similar to the registered trademark in trade activities to indicate the same or similar goods or services without permission. potential for confusion.

If it is determined that the same mark is used to designate the same goods or services, it should be presumed that there is a concern for confusion. The above rights shall not damage any existing prior rights, nor shall they affect the possibility of members to confirm the validity of the rights based on use. ?Article 6bis of the 1967 Paris Convention applies in principle to services. To determine whether a trademark is a well-known trademark, consideration should be given to the extent to which the relevant public is aware of it, including the extent to which it is known to the public through the promotion of the trademark in the member's territory. ?The 1967 text of the Paris Convention applies in principle to goods and services that are not similar to the goods or services indicated by a registered trademark, as long as the use of the trademark on dissimilar goods or services will imply that the goods or services are owned by the registered trademark. The interests of the owner of the registered trademark may be damaged as a result. ?Our country is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and has joined the World Trade Organization. It should fulfill its obligations under the Convention and the Agreement.

3. The protection of well-known trademarks shall be clearly stipulated from two aspects. The scope of protection for well-known trademarks not registered in my country and well-known trademarks registered in my country shall be different. First, if a trademark applied for registration for identical or similar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of someone else’s well-known trademark that has not been registered in China, and is likely to cause confusion, it will not be registered and its use will be prohibited. In other words, for well-known trademarks that have not been registered in my country, only the right to register and use them on the same or similar goods or services is protected. If a trademark applied for registration is a copy, imitation or translation of someone else's well-known trademark that has not been registered in my country, and is used on the same or similar goods or services, which is likely to cause confusion, the trademark will not be registered and its use will be prohibited.

However, if the goods and services using the trademark applied for registration are not identical or similar to the goods or services using a well-known trademark not registered in my country, and are not likely to cause confusion, they are not prohibited. Register and use. Second, if the 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 well-known trademark registrant to be harmed, the registration shall not be allowed and the trademark shall not be registered. Use prohibited.

In other words, for well-known trademarks that have been registered in my country, others are not only prohibited from registering and using them on the same or similar goods or services, but also prohibit others from registering and using them on different or dissimilar goods or services. The law focuses on the principle of protecting registered trademarks. This provision is in line with the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and will play an important role in strengthening and improving my country's well-known trademark protection system.