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Basic Principles of Trademark Law

Legal subjectivity:

Trademark registration principles refer to the behavioral basis and legal principles for accepting and ultimately confirming the ownership of trademark rights by trademark registration applicants. According to the provisions of my country’s Trademark Law, the principles of trademark registration are divided into: first-to-file principle and voluntary registration principle. There are four basic principles for trademark registration: voluntary registration is the main principle and compulsory registration is the supplementary principle; the principle of first application; the principle of unity of application and the principle of priority. 1. The principle of first to apply. The principle of first to apply, also known as the principle of first to register, means that if two or more trademark registration applicants apply for registration of the same or similar trademark on the same or similar goods, For a trademark that has been applied for earlier, the applicant can obtain the exclusive right to use the trademark, and subsequent trademark registration applications will be rejected. If the application is filed on the same day, the previously used trademark will be initially reviewed and announced, and other applications will be rejected and will not be announced; if the application is used on the same day or is not used at all, the applicants can resolve the issue through negotiation. If the negotiation fails, each applicant shall Determined by drawing lots. While adhering to the principle of first to apply, my country's trademark law also emphasizes the legitimacy of first to use and prevents unfair preemptive registration. Article 31 of the Trademark Law stipulates: Application for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall unfair means be used to preemptively register a trademark that has been used by others and has a certain influence. 2. Principle of voluntary registration The principle of voluntary registration means that whether a trademark user applies for trademark registration depends on their own wishes. Under the principle of voluntary registration, trademark registrants enjoy exclusive rights to their registered trademarks and are protected by law. Unregistered trademarks can be used in production services, but the user does not enjoy exclusive rights and has no right to prohibit others from using the same or similar trademarks on the same or similar goods, except for well-known trademarks. There are also compulsory registration principles and first-to-use principles. 3. Principle of compulsory registration While implementing the principle of voluntary registration, our country has stipulated the principle of compulsory registration for trademarks used on a very small number of goods as a supplement to the principle of voluntary registration. Currently, the only products that must use registered trademarks are tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and packaged tobacco. The production and sale of tobacco products using unregistered trademarks is prohibited. 4. The principle of first-to-use. When the principle of first-to-use application cannot be determined, the principle of first-to-use shall be adopted. According to Article 29 of the Trademark Law: “Two or more applicants for trademark registration shall apply for the same product. If you apply for registration of an identical or similar trademark on similar goods, the trademark that was applied for first will be preliminarily reviewed and announced; if you apply on the same day, the trademark that was first used will be preliminarily reviewed and announced, and the applications of others will be rejected and will not be announced. "This principle often plays an important decisive role when encountering conflicts with other intellectual property rights similar to trademark rights (such as patent rights and copyrights). 5. Principle of separate registration of trademarks The principle of separate registration of trademarks mainly refers to the principle of applying separately for Chinese, English, pinyin, graphics and other elements in a combined trademark. This is mainly determined by the registration review principles of the China Trademark Administration. The country implements the principle of separate examination of various elements of a trademark, that is, separate examination of Chinese, English, pinyin, graphics, etc. If any part of it fails the examination, the entire trademark will be returned and resubmitted. In addition, the principle of separate trademark registration is to facilitate the use and protection of trademark owners. Separately registered trademarks can be used separately or independently, making it easier to use and protect products, packaging, advertising, exhibitions, etc. Legal objectivity:

Article 31 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China" When transferring a registered trademark, the transferor and transferee shall submit an application for transfer of the registered trademark to the Trademark Office. The application procedures for transferring a registered trademark shall be handled by the transferor and the transferee at the same time. If the Trademark Office approves the application for transfer of a registered trademark, it will issue a corresponding certificate to the transferee and make an announcement. When transferring a registered trademark, if the trademark registrant fails to transfer the same or similar trademark registered on the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office shall notify the trademark registrant to make corrections within a time limit; if the trademark registrant fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be deemed to have given up the transfer of the registered trademark. For an application, the Trademark Office shall notify the applicant in writing.