According to different classification standards, trademark objects can be divided into different categories:
1. According to different users, trademarks can be divided into commodity trademarks and service trademarks.
1) trade marks. A commodity trademark is a sign indicating the origin of a commodity, which can distinguish the same or similar products produced by different enterprises. Article 4 of the Trademark Law stipulates: "Enterprises, institutions and individual industrialists and businessmen who need to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods they produce, manufacture, process, select or distribute shall apply to the Trademark Office for trademark registration."
2) service marks. The so-called service trademark refers to a sign used by service providers to distinguish their own services from those of others. The services mentioned here refer to intangible services, such as those provided by advertising, insurance, banking, real estate, transportation, audio-visual rental, restaurants and other industries. Services are not limited to for-profit services, but also include non-profit services, such as services provided by non-profit institutions such as hospitals and schools.
the protection of service trademarks began in China in 1993. Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Trademark Law stipulates: "The services provided by enterprises, institutions and individual businessmen. If it is necessary to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark, it shall apply to the Trademark Office for registration of a service trademark. " Because service trademarks are very close to commodity trademarks in nature and basically apply to the same standards, the protection of service trademarks can sometimes be introduced into the existing trademark law through very brief amendments. In fact, when China revised the Trademark Law in 1993, except for adding the second paragraph to Article 4, the protection of service trademarks was basically solved only through a brief explanation of the third paragraph. The content of the third paragraph is: "The provisions of this Law on commodity trademarks shall apply to service trademarks."
2. According to different purposes, trademarks can be divided into defensive trade mark, certification trademarks and collective trademarks.
1) defensive trade mark. Defensive trade mark is a trademark that the registrant not only does not use, but also prohibits others from registering or using. Defensive trade mark system is a special measure to protect well-known trademarks, but it has not been established in China.
2) certification trademark. A certification trademark refers to an organization that has the ability to detect and supervise a certain commodity or service, but is used by people other than it to prove the origin of the commodity or service. Raw materials, manufacturing methods, quality, accuracy or other specific quality of commodity trademarks or service trademarks, such as leather marks, green food marks.
the characteristic of a certification trademark is that the registrant cannot use it himself, and it can only be used by others who meet certain conditions and perform certain procedures. Articles 8 and 11 of the Measures for the Registration and Administration of Collective Trademarks and Certification Trademarks (Order No.22) issued by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on December 3, 1994 stipulate: "Anyone who meets the requirements stipulated in the management rules for the use of certification trademarks may use the certification trademark after fulfilling the procedures stipulated by the registrant. If the goods or services provided by the parties meet the requirements stipulated in the certification trademark, the registrant shall not refuse to use them. " "The registrant of a certification trademark shall not use the certification trademark on the goods or services provided by him."
3) collective trademark. A collective trademark refers to a commodity trademark or service trademark used by members of industrial and commercial organizations, associations or other collective organizations to show that the operators of goods or service providers belong to the same organization. All members of the registrant of a collective trademark may use the collective trademark, but they must go through the necessary procedures according to the rules governing the use of the collective trademark. According to Articles 7 and 12 of Order No.22 of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, collective trademarks may not be licensed to non-collective members and may not be transferred.
3. According to the level of popularity and the scope of protection, it can be divided into ordinary trademarks and well-known trademarks. According to the different legal status, both can be further divided into registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks.
for ordinary trademarks, only registered trademarks can be protected by law, while unregistered trademarks are generally not protected by law. For well-known trademarks, whether they are registered or not, they can be protected by law. However, compared with unregistered well-known trademarks, registered well-known trademarks can often get a wider range of protection. According to the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, unregistered well-known trademarks can get special protection on the same or similar goods, while according to the Interim Provisions on the Recognition and Administration of Well-known Trademarks, registered well-known trademarks can get special protection not only on the same or similar goods (or services), but also on non-similar goods (or services) or even all kinds of goods and the prohibition of enterprise name infringement.
4. It can be divided into visual trademark, auditory trademark (sound trademark) and taste trademark (smell trademark) according to different components or states.
this is a common division method. At this stage, China does not accept applications for registration of hearing trademarks and taste trademarks. Visual trademarks include plane trademarks and three-dimensional trademarks. China only accepts applications for registration of plane trademarks, but three-dimensional trademarks have not been registered and protected.