Trademark transfer is already a very popular way to obtain trademarks in the market, so how do you check the trademark being transferred? First of all, we need to look at the trademark transfer certificate. The trademark transfer certificate is a certification document issued by the Trademark Office after accepting and approving the trademark transfer application. The purpose is to prove the fact that the trademark has been legally transferred.

1. Inquiry on the trademark transfer certificate

Whether the trademark is successfully transferred depends on whether the Trademark Office has approved it. If the Trademark Office does not approve it and there is only an agreement between the two parties to transfer, the trademark right will not be transferred. The transfer behavior cannot take effect. So if we purchase a trademark, we will go through the trademark transfer procedures. Naturally, we need to care and check whether the trademark transfer is successful.

If you have entrusted a trademark agency to handle the trademark transfer, you need to pick up the phone and consult your agency. They are obliged to report to you the review status of the trademark transfer procedure. In addition, if you know the trademark registration number of the transferred trademark, you can log in to the official trademark query system of the Trademark Office and enter the registration number to query the trademark status information. Through this information, you can know whether the trademark has been transferred to your name.

II. Things to note when transferring trademarks

When a registered trademark is transferred, the trademark registrant shall transfer a similar trademark registered on the same kind of goods, or the same trademark registered on similar goods. or similar trademarks shall be transferred together. For transfers that are likely to cause confusion or have other adverse effects, the Trademark Office will not approve the transfer and will notify the applicant in writing and explain the reasons.

If a registered trademark is transferred and the trademark registrant fails to transfer the same or similar trademark registered on the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office shall notify the trademark registrant to make corrections within a time limit: If the trademark registrant fails to make corrections within the time limit, , shall be deemed to have given up the application for transfer of the registered trademark.

3. The general process of trademark transfer

1. The trademark transfer process includes: application → acceptance → review → announcement → issuance of transfer certificate.

2. Documents required for trademark transfer:

A. "Transfer Application/Registered Trademark Application";

B. Transferor and transferee's Identity document (copy);

C. If the agent is entrusted, submit the "Agency Letter" issued by the transferor and the transferee respectively, and if it is processed directly in the acceptance hall, submit it to the person in charge of the transferee The original and copy of the ID card;

D. If applying for transfer, relevant supporting documents should also be submitted:

E. If the application documents are in a foreign language, they should also be provided by a translation agency Chinese translation confirmed by signature.

3. Trademark transfer time: It takes about 6-10 months.

The latest version of the trademark transfer process in 2022

According to the "Announcement on Simplifying the Work Process for Optimizing the Application Materials and Shortening the Review Cycle" issued by the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office in February 2018, Changes and renewals have already been "officially announced" to merge the document review and review process, and cancel the process of issuing acceptance notices, but transfers have not been included in this list.

It is understood that according to the latest official information: the issuance of acceptance notices for trademark transfer applications has been cancelled, and the application process has been streamlined to:

Apply for approval of payment of official fees through review of payment notices

This means that receiving a payment notice in the future means that the transfer has passed the review and can be approved.

Article 42 of the "Trademark Law" stipulates that when a registered trademark is transferred, the transferor and the transferee shall sign a transfer agreement and file an application with the Trademark Office at the same time. The transferee shall ensure the quality of the goods using the registered trademark. When transferring a registered trademark, the trademark registrant shall transfer all similar trademarks registered on the same goods, or identical or similar trademarks registered on similar goods. For transfers that are likely to cause confusion or have other adverse effects, the Trademark Office will not approve the transfer and will notify the applicant in writing and explain the reasons. After the transfer of a registered trademark is approved, it will be announced. The assignee shall enjoy the exclusive right to use the trademark from the date of announcement.