Registering a trademark is actually not an easy task. Many people think that as long as the registered trademark is handed over to an agency, they are guaranteed to get a certificate. In fact, this is not the case. No agency can guarantee that registration will be guaranteed. You can get the certificate, so customers often ask, what are the risks of trademark registration, and what are the risks of registering a trademark?
1. Blind spots in trademark query
Before applying for a trademark, Conduct a detailed trademark search to see if there are any similar or identical ones. If you avoid identical or similar ones, you can ensure a higher success rate for your trademark. Some are in the process of registration, but the acceptance letter has not yet been issued. The application model has not been included in the trademark database and cannot be queried by anyone. During this blind period, the time when the trademark data is entered shall prevail. Three months is the blind period for inquiries. During the blind period, if someone applies for the same trademark as you, it cannot be searched, so this is a major risk in registering a trademark.
2. Judgment of trademark similarity
When searching for a trademark, the query results must be compared with the applicant’s trademark. During the comparison process, the applicant and the person in charge of the agency will They have different opinions and have different interests and perspectives, so the opinions are not consistent in many cases. Therefore, there is no absolute standard for whether two trademarks are similar or not, only a probabilistic judgment. Especially for the similarity of graphic trademarks, the difference in judgment is even greater.
Generally, the order in which the opinions of the three parties should be taken into account is: Trademark Office Examiner>Agency Investigator>Applicant. Of course, when applying, the opinions of the agency should be taken into account.
3. Errors occur due to subjective and objective differences between examiners
The examination of each trademark registration application is completed independently by each examiner, because different examiners have different professional scopes and knowledge. There are certain differences in face, work experience, sense of responsibility, etc., and the review results will inevitably be affected by a variety of subjective and objective factors. For the same type of case, different examiners and different types of examiners may reach completely opposite determination results, and the law also gives examiners the discretion to exercise based on personal understanding during the examination process. Trademark review is a highly subjective task, so differences are inevitable.