Among the ways for enterprises to obtain trademarks, the earliest method used is trademark registration. After submitting documents to the Trademark Office and passing the approval according to normal procedures, the enterprise will then begin to own the trademark. Of course, companies can operate with trademark rights, but generally speaking, if they want to survive in the market for a long time, they need to let consumers remember the representative logo of a company. Therefore, the emergence of trademarks is a matter of history.
Why do companies need to obtain trademarks in their operations?
Article 3 of the "Trademark Law" stipulates that a trademark approved and registered by the Trademark Office is a registered trademark, and the trademark registrant enjoys the exclusive right to use the trademark and is protected by law. Except for the trademark registrant, other units and individuals may not use the trademark without permission.
The "Trademark Law" does not make clear provisions on the protection of ordinary unregistered trademarks, so they are always in a state of no rights protection. Unregistered trademarks do not prohibit other units or individuals from using them. If there are too many goods using this trademark, on the one hand it will confuse consumers about the source of the goods, and on the other hand it will also lead to chaos in the market economic order. What's more serious is that the use of the same or similar trademark may be prohibited at any time due to the approved registration of another person's same or similar trademark.
Therefore, if you want to use a common trademark with assurance, it is best to register it. If someone registers the trademark before the user of the trademark, the user will have committed trademark infringement and will have to pay huge compensation. The owner of a registered trademark enjoys the exclusive right to use the trademark. When the registered trademark is counterfeited and used by others, it constitutes trademark infringement. The trademark owner can request the illegal user to bear legal responsibility.
Trademark registrants can license others to use their registered trademarks by signing a trademark license contract, allowing the trademark registrant to directly obtain economic benefits. Unregistered trademarks are not exclusive to the user, and cannot sign a license contract with others, let alone make direct profits through licensed use.
The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, and each renewal of registration is valid for ten years. Therefore, renewal is mainly carried out in a timely manner according to the established time, and the trademark can be valid indefinitely. Unregistered trademarks may be accused of infringement at any time and may be prohibited from use at any time.
Owning trademarks by an enterprise has a significant impact on itself. As an intangible asset of an enterprise, trademarks play a decisive role in the market. When any enterprise does not have a trademark, it is like a "wild brand" that is not recognized by consumers. Only after obtaining a trademark can a company leave an impression on consumers.