How are well-known trademarks determined?

The identification of well-known trademarks is the prerequisite for the implementation of special protection for well-known trademarks. In my country, the identification of well-known trademarks includes administrative identification and judicial identification.

The recognition by the Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board is an administrative recognition. According to the relevant provisions of the Implementing Rules of the Trademark Law, only when disputes arise during the trademark registration and trademark review processes, the owner of the well-known trademark You can apply to the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to determine whether your trademark constitutes a well-known trademark. When the relevant party files an application, it shall submit evidence proving that its trademark constitutes a well-known trademark. The Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall, at the request of the parties, determine whether the trademark constitutes a well-known trademark on the basis of ascertaining the facts and in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of the Trademark Law.

Parties may also apply to the People's Court for judicial recognition of well-known trademarks. The People's Court's determination of well-known trademarks in individual cases is in line with international practice. After a trademark civil infringement dispute occurs, the parties concerned can bring a lawsuit to the People's Court, and at the same time, they can apply to the People's Court for recognition of a well-known trademark. The People's Court shall review the relevant evidentiary materials submitted by the parties claiming that the trademark is well-known and make a determination as to whether the trademark is well-known. In trademark infringement disputes accepted by the People's Court, whether the trademark involved is well-known is the basis for trial and judgment. Therefore, giving the people's court the right to identify well-known trademarks is a need for it to perform its judicial functions and is also a need for trademark law enforcement.

Whether it is administrative determination or judicial determination, "case-by-case determination" is adopted and is initiated at the request of the trademark owner. If the party concerned does not make a claim, the trademark authority and the people's court will not take the initiative to identify the case.

The identification of well-known trademarks is only effective in individual cases. A well-known trademark recognized by the recognition authority is only valid in the case in which the dispute arises and cannot be automatically applied to other dispute cases. That is to say, when a new dispute occurs, the owner of a well-known trademark must again provide evidence that his trademark constitutes a well-known trademark, and the recognition authority will confirm it again. This provision is in line with the characteristics of dynamic protection of well-known trademarks.

my country's current laws regarding the identification and protection of well-known trademarks are in line with international practice and have reached the minimum protection standards required by international conventions.