Friends who have a certain knowledge of trademarks should know that when it comes to naming trademarks, it is clearly stipulated in the Trademark Law that place names of administrative divisions above the county level or foreign place names known to the public are not allowed to be registered as trademarks of. If this kind of place name is registered as a trademark name, it will definitely not pass the review. This is a real thing.

Then the question is, since the Trademark Law stipulates that place names cannot be used as trademark names, but in daily life, we can often see a series of Shaxian snacks, Lanzhou Ramen, Tianjin Soup Dumplings, etc. with county and city names. level or even the trademark of a municipality's place name. Or the signs on agricultural products such as "Pingliang Golden Fruit", "Deqing Gonggan", "Pinggu Big Peach", "Jinhua Ham" and so on.

In fact, this kind of trademark has a special existence, that is, it appears as a geographical indication.

Geographical indications are signs that indicate that a product originates from a certain region and that the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are mainly determined by the natural or human factors of the region. It is very common in agricultural products and local specialties. It is also one of the means used by many regional governments to lead farmers out of poverty and become rich.

Geographical indications are divided into certification marks and collective marks. What is protected is the common interests of all qualified producers and operators in the place where the product originates. In the geographical indication trademark protection system, collective trademarks are the means of protection, and geographical indications are the objects of protection.

"Place name + product name" is the core content of geographical indications and belongs to all local producers and operators. What the registrant of a geographical indication obtains is not the exclusive right to trademark the words "place name + product name", but the exclusive right to the special mark of the geographical indication. Of course, as a price, the registration fee for geographic certification trademarks is much more expensive than ordinary trademark registration.

In addition to applying for trademark registration for geographical certification trademarks, there is another way to use place names above the county level, that is, the place name can explain other meanings.

For example, some place names may, in addition to place names, also be an animal, plant or have other meanings. The public sees this word and associates it with something other than a place name. For example, the word "Phoenix" in Fenghuang County is both a place name and a mythical animal. Therefore it can be registered as a trademark.

So, why some place names can be used as trademarks.