The trademark registration review cycle has been shortened. What should we pay attention to when registering a trademark?

01 Principle of first registration

Trademark registration follows the "first principle". If you submit a similar or identical trademark application one day later than others, you may be rejected. Therefore, the sooner you apply for a trademark, the better. In addition, it often takes several months for a trademark to be filed from the moment it is filed to the time it is finally issued with a trademark certificate, of which the announcement period alone is three months. Therefore, if you submit your application early, you can also get the certificate early, so that you don't get the trademark certificate when you really need to use it.

?02 Trademark Naming

Regarding trademark naming, first of all, it must comply with the provisions of the Trademark Law and cannot contain content prohibited by law, such as the name of the country, government unit, or names with adverse effects. etc.; secondly, it must be distinctive and must not be similar or identical to other people’s trademarks, and must not maliciously register other people’s well-known trademarks.

In addition, the trademark name should also be conducive to corporate publicity and should not be too long. Applicants can prepare 3-5 trademark names and select the best ones after conducting trademark searches.

03 Trademark Category Selection

Trademark registration category is also a major concern. Each industry has its own core categories that must be registered. For example, Category 25 in the clothing industry is A popular category. If you are not very clear about the trademark category, it is recommended to consult a professional trademark agency or refer to the registration status of well-known companies in similar industries. If you can't protect all categories in the early stage of starting a business, then you should lay out a few key categories. There are also 35 categories of advertising trademarks, which are also the choices many trademarks make when choosing multiple categories. You can make a multi-category layout with the help of a professional agency.

04Trademark search?

Trademark search is an important step before submitting a trademark registration application, which can largely eliminate the risk of similar trademarks. Trademark query refers to searching the registration status of a trademark through the website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office or other search websites to find out whether the trademark you are planning to apply for has been registered by others or is being applied for. If you encounter similar trademarks, you can change the trademark name in time to avoid risks. However, trademark search cannot 100% guarantee that similar trademarks will be eliminated, because there is a "blind search period" for trademarks, and the trademark application status during that period cannot be searched.

After a trademark application is submitted, you can also learn about the progress of the trademark and keep track of trademark trends through trademark inquiries.

05 Should combination trademarks be registered separately?

Some companies apply for trademarks that contain both text and graphics elements. It is recommended that you register the text and graphics separately. Because the trademark examiner examines text and graphics separately when examining a combined trademark, as long as one element is unqualified, the trademark will be rejected.

After applying separately, the two trademarks will not affect each other, which will help improve the success rate of registration. Moreover, if you apply separately, you will be more flexible and handy when using your trademark in the future.

06 Do a rejection review when it is rejected

If your trademark application is rejected, don’t give up. You must remember to apply for a rejection review. After receiving the "Notice of Trademark Rejection or Partial Rejection" issued by the Trademark Office, the applicant can analyze the reasons for the rejection and apply for a rejection review within the specified time.

Trademark review is conducted manually, and there are subjective factors. The same trademark may have different judgments in the eyes of different examiners. Applying for rejection review can also win a chance for the trademark.

07 Separate protection of Chinese character names

Some companies want to protect their names through trademarks, but after submitting Chinese character manuscripts, they cannot be reviewed by the Trademark Office. In this case, you can Design the Chinese characters that need to be registered as traditional Chinese characters and use uncommon fonts, such as Traditional Fat Baby and Traditional Children. Chinese characters can also be typeset, such as head-aligned, conjoined, etc. Manuscripts processed in this way will be considered by the Trademark Office to be graphics rather than Chinese characters, making it easier to pass the review. When other companies use the same words as your registered trademark, you can boldly claim infringement, because when the Industry and Commerce Bureau determines infringement, it mainly depends on whether the business behavior of the infringing party is similar to yours, and whether the meaning of the words used is similar to the meaning you registered. , as long as it is similar, it will be deemed as infringement; therefore, registering the name as a trademark using traditional and uncommon fonts can provide effective protection.

?08 How to respond to applications on the same day?

If a trademark is applied for on the same day, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of supplementary evidence of use for trademark registration on the same day to the applicant who applied on the same day. Evidence mainly refers to the use of trademarks on commodities, commodity packaging or containers, and commodity transaction documents, or the use of trademarks in advertising, exhibitions, and other commercial activities to identify the source of commodities.

If both parties provide evidence of application on the same day, or neither party has used it, or the evidence of the trademark is invalid, etc., and it is impossible to tell the winner, the Trademark Office will issue a notice of application for trademark registration on the same day to the applicant, and both parties will resolve the issue themselves. , if the negotiation fails within the specified time, the Trademark Office will determine the applicant by drawing lots.

?09 Similar trademarks registered in the same category

When encountering similar trademarks registered in the same category, you can apply to the Trademark Office for withdrawal. If the other party cannot provide valid evidence of trademark use, the The trademark will be revoked.

?10 How to make a trademark exclusive

Study the trademark category table in detail, "Promotion (for others) 350071" and "Work for others" in "3503 Sales (Contract) Agency" Intermediaries (purchasing goods and services for other businesses) 350085" subcategories. Its meaning is to provide what others need, no matter what is needed, as long as the customer's needs are legitimate and the services provided by the company are not illegal, it can be explained by these two subcategories.