After the trademark acceptance notice is issued, the trademark can be marked with the TM mark and used. When the trademark registration certificate is issued, the trademark can be marked with an R circle.
The common practice in the trademark industry to explain to customers is: if you submit an application and receive an acceptance notice, you can mark it with TM. If you obtain the final trademark registration certificate, you can mark it with R. The use of registered trademarks will be strictly protected by trademark law.
TM" is commonly seen in foreign trademarks. It is the abbreviation of the English "trade mark". The Chinese meaning of "trade mark" is "commercial mark", so "TM" means "trademark". Its Its function is to tell people that the graphic or text marked on it is a trademark of the product or service, not a name or an advertisement. "R" is the abbreviation of "register" in English, and "register" means "registration" in Chinese. Marking this mark on goods or services tells people that the graphics or words marked on it are not only trademarks, but also registered trademarks, which are protected by national laws and cannot be used by any other individual or organization without authorization. Now we know. What is the difference between TM and R? "TM" is a trademark and "R" is a registered trademark. The two have different levels of legal protection.
When a trademark becomes a registered trademark, it can be used. Mark the "R" or "Note" registration mark in the upper right corner or lower right corner, or directly indicate it is a "registered trademark". Remember that the registration mark must be placed in the upper right corner or lower right corner of the trademark. This is the trademark of the People's Republic of China. *As stipulated in the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China", another point to note is that after applying for trademark registration and obtaining the "Notice of Acceptance" issued by the National Trademark Office, the period before the "Trademark Registration Certificate" is still not allowed. The trademark is marked with a registration mark because the "Notice of Acceptance" issued by the National Trademark Office is only the beginning of the trademark registration process. This "Notice of Acceptance" only indicates that the Trademark Office has accepted the trademark registration application, but does not indicate whether the application has actually been approved. A considerable number of trademark registration applications have been accepted by the Trademark Office, but were rejected after review, and ultimately failed to be registered. Therefore, it is recommended to mark "TM" instead of "R" during this period, otherwise it will constitute a violation. The illegal act of passing off a registered trademark will be punished with a fine of less than 20% of the illegal business volume or less than 2 times of the illegal profit.
When the trademark has not become a registered trademark, mark the "TM" mark and do so. It is to tell the public that this graphic or text is used as a "trademark" for goods or services, not a name or an advertisement, so as to prevent the graphic or text marked from it from flowing into the public domain, and cannot apply to become a registered trademark, and enjoy Exclusive right; at the same time, the "TM" mark can also be used as proof of using the graphic or text as a trademark. When applying for a registered trademark, you have the right to use it first.
R comes from the English REGISTRATION, which means: A registered trademark means that the trademark has been registered and enjoys legal protection.
First of all, you should realize that it is normal and not terrible to have problems in the above-mentioned process of trademark registration application. This understanding can help you. People should keep a calm mind and try their best to fight for their own rights and interests.
Secondly, trademark registration application is a complete process, which includes trademark search, trademark application, trademark registration application acceptance, review, rejection or preliminary review. Pass, publish the preliminary review announcement of the trademark registration application (you may also encounter trademark objections during this process), and issue the trademark registration certificate. In the above link, if it is rejected, the trademark applicant can apply for reexamination through the trademark review procedure. The reviewer is the Trademark Review and Adjudication Committee of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; if there is a trademark objection, the applicant must also make a defense. If the defense fails, You can also apply for trademark objection review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Many trademarks have to go through many levels of checkpoints before they can be registered, and a few trademarks only get the trademark registration certificate after four or five years. In short, problems may occur in the above links.
Finally, and most importantly, after a trademark search, if you have a certain degree of confidence in the trademark you are applying for, you should apply with confidence. Once rejected, you can definitely win it through the review process. Approval of registration results. In fact, for trademarks that have undergone strict trademark searches, the success rate of reexamination is still very high.
The purpose of trademark inquiry, whether it is the applicant's own inquiry, inquiry through an agency, or inquiry through the Trademark Office's external window, is to eliminate as much as possible the influence of trademarks that are similar to the applied trademark. During the inquiry process, Everyone will face the problem of judging the results of trademark search.