What are the requirements for a registered trademark?

(1) The trademark should have distinctive features, be easy to identify, and must not conflict with the legal rights previously obtained by others.

(2) Only the common name, graphics, model number of the product, or only a direct representation of the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the product shall not be registered as a trademark, but If it has acquired distinctive features through use and is easy to identify, it can be registered as a trademark.

(3) 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. What are the requirements for trademark registration applicants

After the revision of the Trademark Law and its implementing regulations, the scope of trademark rights has been expanded, domestic natural persons have been given the right to apply for trademark registration, and past restrictions on business scope, medicines, and tobacco have been cancelled. , restrictions on the special requirements required for trademarks of newspapers and magazines, and at the same time, *** are allowed to apply for trademark registration. Applicants applying for trademark registration in my country can be divided into two types according to their country of origin: domestic applicants and foreign applicants.

(1) Domestic applicants mainly have the following situations:

1. Natural person

Natural person is the legal title of a person. According to the provisions of the General Principles of Civil Law, natural persons are citizens. From the time of birth to the time of death, a citizen has the capacity for civil rights, enjoys civil rights and assumes civil obligations in accordance with the law. In other words, any citizen of the People's Republic of China has the right to apply for trademark registration, unless otherwise provided by law.

2. Legal person

The definition of "legal person" in the "General Principles of Civil Law" is: an organization that has the capacity for civil rights and civil conduct, and independently enjoys civil rights and assumes civil obligations in accordance with the law. Legal persons include: corporate legal persons, agencies, institutions and social group legal persons.

3. Other organizations

Other organizations refer to enterprises, institutions, social groups and other organizations that do not have legal person status.

(2) Foreign Applicants

According to the provisions of Articles 17 and 18 of the Trademark Law, foreigners or foreign enterprises shall apply in accordance with the agreement signed between their country of origin and my country. Or international treaties to which Japan is a party, or based on the principle of reciprocity, you can apply for trademark registration in our country. For foreigners or foreign enterprises with a habitual residence or business office in China, they will be treated as domestic applicants when handling the application procedures; however, foreigners or foreign enterprises without a habitual residence or business office in China should entrust a nationally recognized trademark owner Organizational agent with agency qualifications.

One thing to note is that although the Trademark Law only mentions that foreigners or foreign enterprises can apply for trademark registration in my country in accordance with relevant regulations, in practice, other foreign organizations can also apply.

(3) ***Same applicant

In addition to a single applicant, according to the provisions of Article 5 of the Trademark Law, two or more natural persons, legal persons or other organizations You can apply to register the same trademark with the Trademark Office at the same time, and you can enjoy and exercise the exclusive right to use the trademark together. ***The same applicants can be all domestic applicants or all foreign applicants, or there can be both domestic applicants and foreign applicants.

In practice, when applying for trademark registration and handling other related matters at the my country Trademark Office, applicants from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan refer to "Foreign Applicants".

Note again: In 2007, my country has new regulations for natural person trademark registration applications. Please refer to the new regulations for details. How to register a trademark

(1) Application agency

Domestic applicants for trademark registration can directly go to the Trademark Office to apply for registration by themselves, or they can entrust a trademark agency to handle it. When foreigners or foreign enterprises apply for registered trademarks and handle other trademark matters in my country, they should entrust a legally established trademark agency organization to act as their agent.

When a party entrusts a trademark agency organization to apply for trademark registration or handle other trademark matters, the party shall submit a power of attorney. The power of attorney shall state the content and authority of the agency; the power of attorney for foreigners or foreign enterprises shall also state the nationality of the principal.

(2) Registration application

When applying for trademark registration for the first time, the applicant shall submit an application form, trademark drawings, supporting documents and pay the application fee. The applicant for drug trademark registration shall be accompanied by a copy of the drug production enterprise license or drug trading enterprise license issued by the health administrative department. If applying for trademark registration of tobacco products, the applicant shall be accompanied by certification documents of production approval by the national tobacco authority. During the use of a registered trademark, if the scope of use needs to be expanded, a separate application for registration must be submitted regardless of whether the expanded goods are of the same category as the goods for which the original registered trademark is used; if the registered trademark needs to change its logo, a new registration application must be submitted ; If a registered trademark needs to change the name, address or other registration matters of the registrant, a change application should be submitted. Under the first-to-file principle, the determination of the filing date is of great significance. The application date is generally based on the date when the Trademark Office receives the application documents. If the applicant enjoys priority, the priority date shall be the filing date. The Trademark Law stipulates two situations in which priority can be enjoyed: First, the trademark registration applicant files another application for the same trademark in China for the same goods within 6 months from the date when the trademark registration application is first filed in a foreign country. If you apply for trademark registration, you can enjoy priority in accordance with the agreement signed by the foreign country with China or the international treaty that both countries are a party to, or in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of priority; secondly, if the trademark is registered in an international forum sponsored or recognized by the Chinese government, If the trademark is used for the first time on a product exhibited at an exhibition, the applicant for registration of the trademark can enjoy priority within 6 months from the date the product is exhibited.

(3) Review and Approval

The Trademark Office will review the trademark registration applications accepted in accordance with the law, and the registration applications that comply with the regulations or that use the trademark on some designated goods comply with the regulations. If the registration application does not comply with the regulations or the registration application for use of the trademark on some designated goods does not comply with the regulations, the registration application for use of the trademark on some designated goods shall be rejected or the application for use of the trademark on some designated goods shall be rejected, and the applicant shall be notified in writing and Give reasons. If a trademark registration applicant is dissatisfied with the rejection of the application, he may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review in accordance with the law. If he is dissatisfied with the review decision, he may file an administrative lawsuit within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice.

Anyone can file an objection to a preliminary approved trademark within 3 months from the date of announcement. The Trademark Office will rule on the objection filed in accordance with the law. If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the ruling, it may initiate a review in accordance with the law. If the party is dissatisfied with the review ruling, it may initiate a lawsuit in accordance with the law.

If the parties concerned have no objections to the expiration of the announcement period, the registration will be approved, a trademark registration certificate will be issued, and the announcement will be made. If the objection is determined to be untenable and the registration is approved, the time for the trademark registration applicant to obtain the exclusive right to trademark shall be calculated from the expiration of the 3-month period from the preliminary announcement. A trademark registered upon approval of opposition will not have retroactive effect against others using signs that are identical or similar to the trademark on the same or similar goods from the expiration of the trademark opposition period until the opposition ruling takes effect; however, because The user shall compensate the trademark registrant for any losses caused by his bad faith.

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