What should you do if your trademark registration fails and is rejected? Do you just sigh and feel helpless? Of course not! Depending on the circumstances, your trademark may still be "saved"!

< p>There are three inevitable risks in trademark registration, so there is a possibility of registration failure. Depending on the situation, there are various reasons for trademark registration failure. Among them, trademark registration failure caused by rejection or partial rejection by the Trademark Office accounts for 80% of the reasons for failure, becoming the main reason for trademark registration failure.

So, what should you do once your trademark registration fails and is rejected? Do you have to sigh and feel helpless? Of course not! Depending on the situation, your trademark may still be "saved"!

p>

Today we will first talk about the reasons why trademarks are rejected and how to save these failed trademarks. Friends, keep your eyes open, take your seat, and see if your trademark can still be saved!

1. Others registered it first

When the trademark examiner conducts a trademark review, First, the trademark database will be searched. If it is found that the same trademark has been applied for registration by multiple people on the same product or similar products, the company or individual who submitted the application will be rejected based on the "first to apply principle".

This kind of rejection of identical trademarks is generally caused by the blind period in trademark searches, which is an unavoidable objective reason. In addition, there is another situation due to the negligence of the trademark registration applicant. caused.

Some companies or individuals have no experience and are not familiar with the trademark registration process. They do not conduct similar trademark searches before applying for trademark registration, resulting in the situation where the applied trademark is the same as the successfully registered trademark, and the registration fee is wasted. .

2. Trademarks that are similar are rejected

The two trademarks are similar in terms of text glyphs, pronunciation, meaning, graphic composition and color, overall structure, three-dimensional shape, and color combination, which may easily confuse the public. If there is misunderstanding or confusion, the trademark will generally be deemed to be similar and rejected.

Generally speaking, when naming a trademark and designing a logo, if you deliberately imitate other brands and have the idea of ??imitating a famous brand, there is a very high possibility that it will be deemed a similar trademark and be rejected.

Trademark similarity is the most common reason for rejection, and it is also the place where misjudgment is most likely to occur. Therefore, this article will focus on the specific situations and rescue measures when trademarks are rejected when they are found to be similar.

3. Trademark names are common names and descriptive words

Names common in the industry and words that only describe product features cannot be registered as trademarks. For example, "apple" cannot be used as a trademark for apples, and "batik" cannot be used as a trademark for cloth.

4. The trademark lacks distinctive features

When the trademark applied for is too simple, such as using simple lines or ordinary geometric figures, the examiner will consider that the trademark lacks distinctive features and does not possess the Recognizability, and was dismissed.

5. The use of signs that are not allowed to be registered

The "Trademark Law" stipulates several types of trademarks that are not allowed to be registered, including the name, national flag and national anthem of the People's Republic of China. Among the signs used for trademark registration, place names and names or signs that may easily cause the public to misunderstand the quality and origin of the goods cannot be registered as trademarks. If you accidentally use an impermissible sign as a trademark registration, it will be rejected. , will not be registered.

Review of Rejection

Article 34 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates: If an applicant for trademark registration is dissatisfied with a rejected application or a trademark that is not announced, he or she may Apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within fifteen days from the date of notification. ?

In other words, in terms of procedures, all trademark applications rejected by the Trademark Office can apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for rejection review and request a new ruling. This is equivalent to giving all trademarks that have been sentenced to death a chance to be reborn.

The following will focus on the reasons we can use to "save" those rejected trademarks.

The reason for rejection and review is that the trademark is not identical or similar

The most common reason for rejection is that the applied trademark is identical or similar to someone else’s previously registered or previously applied trademark. There are many reasons why trademarks may be identical or similar. The font, pronunciation, meaning, composition and color of graphics, overall structure, three-dimensional shape, color combination, etc. of a trademark may be considered to be similar and therefore rejected.

For example, in the NSFNISAFUN trademark rejection review case, the Trademark Office made a rejection decision on the grounds that the trademark and other trademarks previously applied for registration constitute similar trademarks for similar services.

Analysis: The English letters "NSF" and "NSFS" are similar in the main part. The main part of the applied trademark is part of the cited trademark as a whole, and the three letters and sequence of the registered part of the cited trademark are exactly the same. Therefore, the Trademark Office determined that it was similar and rejected it.

Key points of evidence:

1. The overall appearance is different;

2. The design style is different;

3. After being translated into Chinese The actual meaning of the trademark is different;

4. Evidence of continuous use;

5. The actual influence and popularity of the trademark;

Result: The Trademark Office adopted this Opinion, the "NSFNISAFUN" trademark will be announced for preliminary review.

In addition, for review of trademark similarity rejection, multiple evidences can be provided on the constituent elements, glyphs, composition, etc. The above cases are only targeted analyzes based on the circumstances of this case. In other cases , it is also necessary to consider the specific evidence materials and the actual case to make a comprehensive judgment.

The rejection of review is based on the two earlier uses

In principle, if the same trademark is applied for registration by multiple people on the same goods or similar goods, the examiner will based on the first application. Principle?, the enterprise or individual who files the application after rejection. However, if the filing date is on the same day, then the earlier trademark will be published.

In addition, in order to prevent malicious preemptive registration, Article 32 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates that applying for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall it be used to preemptively register others’ already existing rights by improper means. Trademarks that are used and have certain influence.

That is to say, when a trademark is rejected because someone else registered it earlier, if it is the same day as the application date for the announced trademark, or if you suspect that your trademark has been preemptively registered, you can apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Review of prior use of trademark.

Applicable situations: Others’ applications were rejected earlier; the trademark was preemptively registered

Focus of proof: after use; has certain influence

Rejection review is based on three uses of goods Or the service category is not similar

When registering a trademark, the applicant must fill in the category of goods using the trademark according to the "Classification Table of Similar Goods and Services". The Trademark Office examiner will also use this classification table to evaluate the trademark application. Make a preliminary judgment on whether the goods are similar. Generally speaking, registration of the same or similar trademark in the same category and the same group will be rejected because the goods are similar, but this is not absolute.

Based on the actual situation, not all goods of the same type or group constitute similar goods, nor are goods of different categories and different groups necessarily dissimilar. For example, tea beverages belong to Class 30 3002, but its similar groups do not It is not limited to Class 30 Class 3002, but also includes Class 32 Class 3202 (3002 tea beverages are similar to all products in Class 3202).

Due to the complexity of judging similar goods/services and the different examination standards of different examiners, trademarks that are rejected because of similar goods/service categories may be misjudged. Some examiners Trademarks in the same category but in different groups will be determined to be similar trademarks. In this case, after careful identification, a rejection review can be filed for this reason.

Applicable circumstances: trademarks are similar; others registered earlier; goods are similar

Key points of proof: goods/services are not similar in group

Four reasons for rejection of review The trademark is distinctive and easy to identify

When the examiner rejects a trademark registration application because the trademark lacks distinctive features, the examiner can file for a rejection review by proving that the applied trademark is distinctive. The distinctiveness of a trademark is not absolute. Whether a trademark has distinctive features depends to a large extent on the circumstances of use.

In practice, some trademarks that originally had no distinctive features enable consumers to identify the source of goods or services through their use, that is, they have developed distinctive features through use. In this case, Trademarks can be registered and protected.

Applicable circumstances: the applied trademark lacks distinctive features

Key points of proof: the trademark is original and distinctive; the trademark has acquired distinctive features through use

Reasons for rejection of review 5. Failure to use signs that cannot be registered as trademarks

Articles 10, 11, and 12 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulate signs that cannot be used as trademarks. However, the examiner’s judgment on some of these provisions There will also be errors in judgment.

For example, Paragraph 7 of Article 10 is deceptive and may easily cause the public to misunderstand the quality and other characteristics of the product or its place of origin. Paragraph 1 of Article 11 is only for this product. Common names, graphics, model numbers, etc. These are all areas where disputes can easily arise.

Applicable circumstances: use of common names; use of descriptive words; use of place names, etc.

Key points of proof: No violation of Articles 10, 11, and 12 of the new Trademark Law.

The above are the solutions to trademark rejection summarized in this article. Although rejection review is very powerful, it does not mean that all rejected trademarks have the value of being saved. It is not necessary to forcefully save those trademarks. Trademarks will only increase your time costs for no reason and cause a waste of resources.

Therefore, friends should carefully identify the circumstances of the rejected trademarks and pick out those trademarks that have a chance of resurrection. Trademark rejection