1. Dispute Cancellation Dispute Cancellation means that after a trademark is registered, a dispute is raised due to certain statutory reasons, resulting in the trademark being revoked and no longer enjoying the exclusive right to use the trademark. Mainly caused by improper registration, there are two cases of dispute cancellation, one is improper registration, and the other is malicious registration. Improper registration mainly means that the registered trademark violates the provisions of the Trademark Law, and some signs that are not allowed to be registered as trademarks are registered as trademarks. Article 10 of the Trademark Law stipulates eight situations that cannot be used as trademarks, and Article 11 stipulates that Three situations as a registered trademark. Article 12 stipulates that three-dimensional marks cannot be registered, which is very rare. (1) Legal Basis for Improper Registration Article 10 The following signs shall not be used as trademarks: (1) Those that are identical or similar to the country name, national flag, national emblem, military flag, or medal of the People's Republic of China, or the same as the location of the central state agency The names of specific places or the names and graphics of landmark buildings are the same; (2) The names, national flags, national emblems, and military flags of foreign countries are the same or similar, except with the consent of the government of that country; (3) The same as the international intergovernmental The name, flag, and emblem of the organization are the same or similar, except with the consent of the organization or if it is not likely to mislead the public; (4) The name, flag, or emblem of the organization is the same as or similar to the official mark or inspection mark indicating the implementation of control and guarantee, except for those authorized ; (5) Identical or similar to the names and symbols of "Red Cross" and "Red Crescent"; (6) Ethnic discriminatory; (7) Exaggerated propaganda and deceptive; (8) Harmful It has other adverse effects on socialist morals or customs. Place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign place names known to the public shall not be used as trademarks. However, exceptions are made where place names have other meanings or are part of collective trademarks or certification marks; registered trademarks using place names will continue to be valid. Article 11 The following signs shall not be registered as trademarks: (1) Only the common name, graphics, and model of the product; (2) Only directly indicating the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the product ; (3) Lack of distinctive features. Article 12 If a trademark is applied for registration as a three-dimensional mark, the shape resulting only from the nature of the goods themselves, the shape of the goods required to obtain technical effects, or the shape that makes the goods have substantial value shall not be registered. 1. The use of signs in the following 13 situations as registered trademarks is considered improper registration (1) Identical or similar to our country’s national name, national flag, national emblem, military flag, medal, and the same name or landmark building in a specific location where the central state agency is located The names and graphics are the same; (2) The names, national flags, national emblems, and military flags of foreign countries are the same or similar; (3) The names, flags, and emblems of intergovernmental international organizations are the same or similar; (4) The names, flags, and emblems of foreign countries are the same as The official signs and inspection marks that are controlled and guaranteed are the same or similar; (5) The names and signs of the "Red Cross" and "Red Crescent" are the same or similar; (6) The names and signs are ethnically discriminatory; ( 7) Exaggerated and deceptive propaganda; (8) Harmful to socialist morals or having other adverse effects. (9) Place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign place names known to the public (10) Only the common name, graphics, and model of the product; (11) Only directly indicating the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, and weight of the product , quantity and other characteristics; (12) Lack of distinctive features (13) Improper use of three-dimensional marks (2) Malicious registration 2. Cancellation of use Cancellation of use means that a registered trademark violates certain legal provisions during use. The exclusive right to use the trademark was revoked by the Trademark Office. Cancellation of use is mainly due to inappropriate use. According to the law, improper use has the following circumstances: Legal basis Article 44 If a registered trademark is used and any of the following acts is committed, the Trademark Office shall order it to make corrections within a time limit or cancel its registration. Trademark: (1) Changing a registered trademark on one's own initiative; (2) Changing the name, address or other registration information of a registered trademark on one's own initiative; (3) Transferring a registered trademark on one's own initiative; (4) Stopping use for three consecutive years. Article 45 If a registered trademark is used and the goods are shoddily manufactured, passed off as inferior quality, and deceived consumers, the industrial and commercial administration departments at all levels shall, depending on the circumstances, order corrections within a time limit, and may notify or impose a fine, or the Trademark Office may Cancel its registered trademark.

(1) The following circumstances will be revoked during use: 1. The use of a trademark that changes the registered trademark on its own shall be subject to the registration certificate. If it is a word trademark, the font on the registration certificate shall not be changed at will; if it is a graphic trademark, the graphic shall not be changed. ; If it is a combination trademark of text and graphics, the combination method must not be changed, nor any element must be changed. In a word, it must be used how it is registered. However, trademark registrants cannot pay attention to these. Changing the font of a text trademark, changing the graphics of a graphic trademark, changing the combination method of a combination trademark, or removing a certain element are considered to be changes to the registered trademark on their own, which may lead to the cancellation of the trademark. Although we have not found any cases where registered trademarks have been revoked due to voluntary changes, this possibility still exists. The biggest hidden danger comes from competitors, who are likely to report it for competitive reasons. Under normal circumstances, there must be certain reasons for companies to change registered trademarks on their own, especially graphic trademarks. It may be that due to the development of the company, the original graphics are no longer suitable for the corporate image, and some small changes need to be made. For example, KFC changes its characters The portrait's bow tie underwent minor modifications. If the company really needs to modify it, it only needs to register the modified trademark again. 2. Changing the name, address or other registration matters of the registered trademark on your own (1) Cases of changing the name of the registrant on your own: changing the name of the registrant and completing the change procedures should not be revoked. The plaintiff sued on the grounds of trademark infringement, but the defendant The name of the factory was also changed from the original "Baomei Suit Factory, Zhelang Town, Chengdu City, Shanwei City" to "Baomei Suit Factory, Shanwei City", and it was handled by the Experimental Zone Branch of Shanwei City Administration for Industry and Commerce on May 3, 1994 The company name change registration has been completed, and the name of the registrant of "Dakeda" and the registered trademark is also in the process of applying for changes. The court of second instance held that although the Baomei Factory was changed from its original name "Baomei Suit Factory, Zhelang Town, Chengdu, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province" to its current name "Baomei Suit Factory, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province", it was due to the change of administrative region and not Baomei Suit Factory. The factory changes on its own, and Baomei Factory has applied to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to change the name of the trademark registrant, so Baomei Factory will not lose the exclusive right to the above-mentioned registered trademark. There are roughly a dozen items for trademark registration. These items are not required to be registered. If it is represented by an agency, the registration items can be fewer. In fact, the main items that can be changed are only the name and address of the registrant. Changing address is the most common. Most companies will not stay in one place for more than ten years. Company relocation means a change of address. It is not uncommon for registrant names to change. Some people like to change their names, and companies also like to change their names. You are free to change your name, but changing your name without authorization will cause a lot of trouble. For corporate registered trademarks, you still need to go through the change procedures. If you do not change the name, the registered trademark will be revoked because you change the name of the registered trademark holder on your own. . (2) Case of voluntarily changing the registered address: the case of the "Hualian" trademark voluntarily changing its registered address and being revoked. The "Hualian" trademark registered by Nanjing Hualian Commercial Corporation was recognized as a well-known trademark. A real estate company in Shenzhen named "Hualian" The company found that it could not register the 36th class trademark "Hualian", so it found a trademark firm in Nanjing. After investigation by the firm, it was discovered that the "loophole" of Nanjing Hualian was changed but was not registered with the industrial and commercial department. Therefore, the trademark office filed a trademark cancellation application with the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The Trademark Office approved the revocation of the right to use the "Hualian" trademark of Nanjing Hualian Commercial Corporation. Under normal circumstances, the Trademark Office is not aware of any changes to the trademark, so it is difficult to proactively investigate and punish those who change their names, addresses, etc. without completing the change procedures. However, in the case of trademark transfer, the trademark must go to the Trademark Office to go through the transfer procedures. , the changes in its name, address, etc. will be exposed, so it is up to the Trademark Office to decide whether to correct or revoke the restriction. This will have a serious consequence and put the registered trademark in an unstable state. For the trademark assignor, The value of the trademark will be severely affected and, for the assignee, the risk of the purchase will be increased.

Case: "Chinatown" trademark transfer case. Beijing Shengtang Xinren Street Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd. obtained the trademark registration certificate for the words and icons "Chinatown" in 2001. In September 2003, Beijing Shengtang Xinren Street Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd. signed a The trademark transfer contract permanently transfers the Chinatown and graphic trademarks to Lu × The agency also confiscated one of its original seals. Logically speaking, Beijing Shengtang Xinren Street Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd., which has changed its name, has no right to sign a trademark transfer contract with Lu. However, Beijing Shengtang Xinren Street Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd. not only signed this contract with Lu, but also the transfer of the trademark was approved by the Trademark Office. Lu XX officially obtained the registered trademark of "Chinatown" and the graphic. Lu XX sued Beijing XX Catering Co., Ltd. for infringement of its trademark rights, while Beijing XX Catering Co., Ltd. believed that the red official seal "Beijing Shengtang Xinren Street Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd." stamped at the end of the trademark transfer contract did not contain any Therefore, the transfer contract is actually an invalid contract, and the trademark transfer is actually invalid. The focus of the conflict is on the transfer contract with an invalid official seal. Although the industrial and commercial authorities have recognized the transfer as established, is it still legally valid? The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court made a ruling that the plaintiff had the legal exclusive right to the trademark involved. When the transfer of rights to the registered trademark involved in the case has been confirmed by the national industrial and commercial administration department, the plaintiff’s transfer behavior complied with legal provisions, and its claim of rights as the owner of the registered trademark involved in the case should be protected by law. In this case, the name of the registrant was changed on its own. According to the provisions of the Trademark Law, the trademark may be revoked. However, the defendant did not focus on this and did not apply to the Trademark Office to revoke the registered trademark, thereby completely putting aside the worry of trademark infringement. . Canceling a registered trademark is an exercise of administrative rights by a trademark, and the judicial power exercised by the court cannot exercise administrative power on behalf of the Trademark Office, so the court did not determine that the trademark should be revoked. 3. Transferring a registered trademark on your own 4. Stopping use for three consecutive years. Trademark laws in most countries stipulate that after a trademark is registered, the trademark owner has the obligation to continue to use it. If a registered trademark is left unused for a long time, it will cause a waste of social resources. Not only will the trademark not be able to play its due function and role, but it will also affect the registration or use of others. my country’s Trademark Law stipulates that if a registered trademark is not used for three consecutive years, the Trademark Office shall order it to make corrections within a time limit or cancel its registered trademark. The establishment of an application for revocation system can make up for the lack of supervision by the trademark management agencies, and can also provide relevant relief channels to interested parties. It is difficult for the competent authorities to know whether a trademark has been used or not. In practice, those who apply for cancellation are generally those who have an interest in the registered trademark. Cancellation of the other party's trademark has become a widely used business strategy. This article will elaborate on the practice of revoking a trademark if it has not been used for three consecutive years from several actual cases. Case 1: The "Condor" trademark was lost and recovered. The "Condor" brand series of mosquito-killing, fly-killing, and cockroach-killing pesticide products enjoyed a high reputation in the Guangxi market. However, this famous "Condor" nearly lost its wings and was lost to competition. The person quietly applied to the National Trademark Office for cancellation. During the trial by the Trademark Office, the trademark holder failed to hand over the notice to provide evidence due to the resignation of the person in charge of the trademark business, thus missing the deadline for submitting evidence. Because the trademark holder failed to submit evidence of use, the Trademark Office decided to cancel the registration of the trademark. After the "Condor" trademark was revoked, the trademark holder's sales of "Condor" products were devastated. A large number of fly paper and other products counterfeiting the "Condor" trademark flooded into the Guangxi market. The trademark holder Sales of its own "Condor" products plummeted, and the company faced bankruptcy and closure. Fortunately, the trademark holder entrusted a trademark office to promptly apply for review by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. After three years of hard work, he finally regained his own "Condor" trademark. This case allows us to see that a trademark that is not used for three consecutive years will be revoked and has been applied to commercial competition. A trademark that is used normally is also in danger of being revoked if it is not maintained carefully. The negligence of "Condor" caused the company to face bankruptcy. The holder of the "Condor" trademark found out in time and was lucky, and finally restored the trademark rights. In practice, some companies are unaware that their trademarks have been revoked, and their lack of management should serve as a warning.

Case 2: The application for revocation cannot be submitted directly to the court. Yichang Tourism Catering Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yichang Catering Company) holds the "Jie Tang" trademark. Due to corporate restructuring, the claims and debts are jointly owned by the newly formed Yichang Dongtai Tourism Service Co., Ltd. Dongtai Tourism Company (hereinafter referred to as Dongtai Tourism Company), Dongtai Tourism Company was merged by Yichang Hotel, and the debts and claims were borne by Yichang Hotel. The "Jie Tang" steamed bun project ceased operation, the trademark was no longer used, and the ownership was not transferred. A branch of Yichang Tuzhaer Food Marketing Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tuzhaer Company) processes and sells "Jie Tang" steamed buns. There is an advertising board for "Jie Tang Steamed Buns" in front of the store. The bun packaging box is marked with the words "Jie Tang Baozi of Tuzhaer Series Food". Yichang Hotel believed that Tuzhaer Company constituted trademark infringement, so it filed a lawsuit in court. During the lawsuit, Tuzhaer Company argued that the trademark had not been used for five or six years and that its registered trademark should be revoked in accordance with the provisions of the Trademark Law. The court did not adopt Tuzhaer Company’s defense and ruled that the infringement was established. This case tells us that to cancel a registered trademark, an application for cancellation should be submitted to the National Trademark Office instead of directly to the court. The termination of trademark rights is marked by the trademark management agency completing revocation or cancellation procedures in accordance with specific conditions and methods. Therefore, even if there are objective reasons that can lead to the loss of trademark rights, if the administrative procedures that have not been initiated are revoked or canceled in accordance with the law, the legal consequences of the termination of trademark rights will not necessarily occur. In my country, administrative procedures must be initiated to cancel a registered trademark. Judicial adjudication cannot replace administrative law enforcement. Trademark management belongs to the administrative power of the trademark management department. The court cannot overstep its authority and cannot directly make a decision to revoke a registered trademark through judicial procedures for any reason. Case Three: Discussing the Trademark Cancellation Procedure from the "ATONIK" Trademark Cancellation Case. Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. applied to the Trademark Office to cancel the "ATONIK" trademark of Dubis Co., Ltd. on the grounds that it has stopped using the registered trademark for three consecutive years. The trademark After the Bureau accepted the application, it notified Dubis to submit evidence of the use of the trademark, and Dubis submitted evidence of the use of the trademark within the statutory period. After review, the Trademark Office believed that the evidence was valid and made a decision to maintain the trademark's validity. Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. was dissatisfied with the decision and filed an administrative lawsuit with the court. It believed that the Trademark Office did not notify it to review the use evidence provided by Dubis during the administrative procedure to review whether the trademark was valid, depriving it of the statement and defense it should have enjoyed. and the right to a hearing, violating legal procedures. The court of first instance held that in accordance with relevant legal provisions, an application for review should be made to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board first, rather than a direct lawsuit to the court, and dismissed the lawsuit. Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. refused to accept the appeal, and the second-instance court made a final decision upholding the first-instance ruling. We can draw a lesson from this case: when applying to cancel someone else’s trademark, you must strictly follow the procedures prescribed by law. Article 49 of the Trademark Law stipulates: “If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office’s decision to cancel a registered trademark, he may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice, and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board will make a decision. , and notify the applicant in writing. If the party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, it may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice. "If the party is dissatisfied with the Trademark Office's decision to cancel the registered trademark, the law provides for remedies. : First apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review. If you are not satisfied with the review decision, you can file a lawsuit in court. Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. directly sued without filing a review, which obviously violated the procedural regulations. It is inevitable that it will lose the case. In addition, we have also seen a realistic situation. In actual operation, when the Trademark Office is reviewing cases of revocation of a trademark that has been stopped for three consecutive years, the applicant cannot participate in the revocation review process, nor can it cross-examine or cross-examine the use evidence submitted by the trademark owner. Statements of opinion that contradict evidence. The decision of the Trademark Office itself only concludes that the evidence submitted by the trademark owner is valid. The Trademark Office does not provide the relevant evidence to the applicant, and the applicant cannot know the circumstances of the trademark owner's use and the corresponding evidence materials. The root cause of this situation lies in the flaws in the administrative procedure system for review of cancellation cases. The Implementing Regulations of the Trademark Law do not clearly stipulate the status, rights, and obligations of applicants in the cancellation procedure, nor the administrative procedures of the Trademark Office. To solve this problem from a practical perspective, we can only actively assert our rights like Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., but we must also accept the lessons of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., we should strictly abide by the procedures prescribed by law, and first submit a review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board , and then file a lawsuit if you are not satisfied with the review.

Case 4: The use of the "NC" trademark in a non-trademark sense is still revoked. Health First Co., Ltd. submitted a three-year application to the National Trademark Office for the "GNC" trademark assigned to Jiangsu Materials Group Economic and Trade Development Co., Ltd. (referred to as Materials Group Company). If cancellation is not used, the Trademark Office will rule to cancel the trademark. Materials Group Company submitted a review to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board ruled that Materials Group Company had intentionally used the trademark involved and maintained the trademark involved. Health First Co., Ltd. was dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court accepted the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board’s proposition and upheld the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board’s decision in the first instance. Health First Co., Ltd. appealed to the Beijing High Court. The Beijing High Court revoked the administrative judgment of the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court, revoked the Trademark Review and Adjudication Committee's "Decision on Cancellation Review of the No. 1129187 "GNC" Trademark" and requested a trademark review The Committee made a decision to cancel the registration of the "GNC" trademark. This cancellation case exhausts the entire process of a trademark cancellation case: application for cancellation, review, first instance, and second instance. What is strange is that the Trademark Office, the Trademark Review Board, the first instance court, and the second instance court came to two completely opposite views: 1. Maintain, 2. , revoked, the focus of the disagreement is whether the material group company uses the trademark involved. The Beijing High Court held that: First of all, after Company XX in this case registered the trademark involved, it licensed the Materials Group Company to use the trademark involved. Later, the two parties signed a transfer contract to transfer the trademark involved to the Materials Group Company. Since these actions were only for the licensor Or the behavior between the transferor and the licensee or transferee does not have the marking function of making the trademark clear to consumers. Therefore, the trademark owner’s licensing of the trademark involved in the case to others and the subsequent transfer do not belong to the use of the trademark. . Second, after receiving the trademark involved in the case, the Materials Group Company commissioned others to produce promotional materials such as “GNC leaflets”, “GNC packaging boxes” and “GNC handbags”. However, since the packaging boxes and handbags printed with the "GNC" logo are used on bee products and not on the non-medical nutritional fish oil products of the trademark-approved goods involved, they are not used within the meaning of trademark law. . Third, the production of non-medical nutritional fish oil requires administrative approval, but the Materials Group Company did not submit evidence of relevant administrative approval. Therefore, it cannot be shown that the Materials Group Company has a legitimate reason not to use the trademark involved, and this reason was not used in the case. It was not raised during the trademark review. In summary, it should be determined that the trademark owner stopped using the trademark involved for three years without justifiable reasons. This case allows us to see the entire process of applying for trademark cancellation, but the most critical issue is the evidence of use. In cases of cancellation of a trademark due to non-use for three consecutive years, continued use is almost the only defense. All evidence will be submitted around use. Materials Group Company submitted a lot of evidence, but the Beijing High Court did not recognize it. There is a saying circulating in practice that just handing over some evidence is enough. From this case, this statement is obviously irresponsible. The Beijing High Court also mentioned another issue in its judgment: "legitimate reasons", that is to say, even if it has not been used for three consecutive years, why can the trademark be kept if there is a legitimate reason for not using it, so it is indeed impossible to file a claim for use. evidence, then you can also find "justifiable reasons".