Provisions on the registration of English names of companies
1. Should the English name of the enterprise be registered? It is mentioned in the Civil Code that legal persons and unincorporated organizations have the right to name, and have the right to decide, use, change, transfer or license others to use their names according to law. The relevant explanations do not further explain this, such as the acquisition requirements, content and use of the right of enterprise name. Article 10 of the Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Enterprise Legal Persons issued by the State Council stipulates: "An enterprise legal person is only allowed to use one name. The name of an enterprise legal person applying for registration shall be approved by the registration authority, and after approval and registration, it shall enjoy the exclusive right within the prescribed scope. " This provision does not seem to require compulsory registration of enterprise names, but only clarifies the exclusive right after registration. But in fact, it is impossible not to register the enterprise name, because one of the necessary procedures for enterprises to carry out business activities is to apply for industrial and commercial registration, and the main items include the enterprise name. Without enterprise name registration, enterprises are not qualified to conduct business activities, nor can they exercise the right of name. This seems a bit contradictory, but it is also stipulated by law to adapt to the modern enterprise system, and enterprise name registration has become one of the means to standardize enterprise establishment. It should be noted here that the above provisions are all norms and constraints on Chinese names of Chinese enterprises, and do not involve English names of enterprises, but also ignore the role of English names of enterprises in a wider scope (international scope) and the demand for legal use of English names of enterprises when domestic enterprises participate in international trade. At first, the second paragraph of Article 8 of the Regulations on the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration promulgated by the State Council in 199 1 stipulated: "If an enterprise uses a foreign name, its foreign name shall be consistent with its Chinese name and shall be reported to the registration authority for registration." This is a proper move to standardize the foreign names of enterprises, especially the English names of enterprises, but it has not continued to play a role in the situation that economic development needs English names of enterprises more and more. On the contrary, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, in the Implementation Measures for the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration promulgated by 1999, exempted the registration of enterprise names in foreign languages, stipulating that if an enterprise name needs to be translated into a foreign language, it shall be translated and used by the enterprise itself according to the principle of text translation, without reporting to the administrative department for industry and commerce for approval and registration. Without registration, direct translation and use will naturally not cause great confusion in domestic use, because most people still take the name of China enterprises as the main basis for cognition. But once you go abroad, you need the English name of the enterprise when you trade with other countries. As an enterprise, there is only one Chinese name in international trade, so it is difficult to show its identity and make others trust it. Enterprises translate and use English names by themselves according to the principle of literal translation. Without the approval and registration of the administrative department for industry and commerce, it will certainly cause confusion and inconvenience in foreign trade, and even misunderstanding and disputes. The Implementation Measures for the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration promulgated by the above-mentioned State Administration for Industry and Commerce 1999 exempts the registration of foreign names of enterprises, but Article 1 of the implementation measures clearly states that these measures are formulated in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration and relevant laws and administrative regulations. Because the second paragraph of Article 8 of the Regulations on the Administration of Enterprise Name Registration stipulates that "if an enterprise uses a foreign name, its foreign name shall be consistent with its Chinese name and reported to the registration authority for registration", the Implementation Measures should not change the original intention of the Regulations and reduce the procedures for registering foreign names in enterprise name registration. Therefore, according to the above provisions, the industrial and commercial authorities should register the English names of enterprises for the record. The English name of a registered enterprise shall be protected by law.
2. The conflict between the English name and the domain name of an enterprise is highlighted in the domain name dispute case between SOCIETEBIC (a foreign company) and Shanghai Bus Hongxuan Industrial Trading Co., Ltd. ... The plaintiff of the domain name dispute, SOCIETEBIC, registered the BIC trademark in China, which is mainly used for stationery, razors and lighters. The respondent, Shanghai Bus Hongxuan Industrial Trading Co., Ltd., whose English name is Shanghai Bus Hongxing Industrial Resources Co., Ltd. and English abbreviation is BIC, is mainly engaged in international trade and trade agency business. The respondent registered the English abbreviation of its enterprise with the domain name "bic.cn". The complainant thinks that the respondent does not enjoy any rights and legitimate interests in the registered bic.cn, and the main part of the bic.cn is exactly the same as the trademark of the complainant, so the complainant should own the domain name, so he filed a lawsuit on the domain name dispute.
According to Article 8 of the Measures for the Settlement of Disputes over Chinese Domain Names, in order to be supported, the following three conditions must be met at the same time:
1. The domain name complained of is the same as the name or logo of the complainant with civil rights, which is similar enough to cause confusion;
2. The holder of the complained domain name does not enjoy the legitimate rights and interests of the domain name or its main part;
3. The complained domain name holder is malicious to the registration or use of the domain name. The focus of the dispute in this case lies in the second condition, that is, whether the English name and abbreviation of the respondent enterprise constitute prior civil rights. 200 1 There are related cases. In the transnational domain name lawsuit between China Chemical Network and Australian ORICA Company, ORICA Company proposed that the name of "Hangzhouhi2000 Infotech Co, Ltd." used by Sinochem Company in registering the domain name had no evidence in the industrial and commercial department of China, and the company did not exist, so it should be considered that they did not have a business entity corresponding to the domain name. Later, Hangzhou Industrial and Commercial Bureau issued a carefully worded "identification certificate" for Sinochem.com, proving that they had been using the English name of "Hangzhou Hi2000 Infotech Co., Ltd.". If this kind of dispute with foreign companies keeps appearing, our industrial and commercial administrative department will have to issue a certificate in every case, and I am afraid it will be overwhelmed. Fortunately, the arbitration center of the World Intellectual Property Organization won the trust of the certificate issued by Hangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce for Sinochem.com, and finally won the transnational domain name lawsuit of China Chemical Network. However, there is no clear answer to the extent to which this certificate can be considered valid. Going back to the case mentioned at the beginning of this article, the English name of the respondent was translated according to its Chinese name, and the contract seal of its English name was filed in the industrial and commercial department, and the name has been used in international trade documents for many years.
In the domain name dispute settlement, as long as the domain name holder enjoys legitimate civil rights and interests (such as name right, enterprise name right, trademark right, etc. The domain name or the main part of the domain name registered on) is favorable evidence for claiming the ownership of the domain name. In this case, Shanghai Bashi Hongxuan Industrial Trading Co., Ltd., the respondent, proved its English name as Shanghai Bashi Hong Industrial Resources Co. , Limited Company and BIC for short belong to their own civil rights and interests.
The English name translated from the legal Chinese name of an enterprise, which has been actually used in international trade, should be considered as an inseparable part of its enterprise name. Even if the English name of an enterprise cannot be formally registered in the administrative department for industry and commerce, it is still considered that the relevant rights and interests have been naturally obtained according to the actual use under the premise that the English name and its abbreviation are legal, and it should be regarded as the prior civil rights and interests, regardless of the strength of the prior rights and interests, as long as they exist, they can be claimed.
In international trade and Internet business, enterprises often use fixed English names or abbreviations, but it is very easy to be the same as or similar to foreign trade names or trademarks. When an English name is registered, it enjoys legal protection.
The above is the relevant knowledge I have compiled for you. I believe you have a general understanding through the above knowledge.