How to deal with copyright and trademark conflicts

We all know that every citizen in our country has his own responsibilities and also has various rights that he can enjoy. For example, copyright owners who own relevant works can publish their works for profit. However, in recent years, something has happened. In a case where someone else’s copyright conflicts with a trademark, how to deal with the conflict between copyright and trademark rights? The editor of Legal Savior Network has compiled relevant content and hopes it will be helpful to you.

How to deal with conflicts between copyright and trademark rights

On the one hand, the copyright holder allows If its work is used as a trademark, the trademark owner has obtained the right to "use" the work to indicate the source of its goods in accordance with the trademark law; in principle, the copyright owner should not prevent the latter from using the work in accordance with the trademark law, unless both parties agree in the contract It is clearly agreed that further use of the trademark must obtain permission from the original copyright holder.

On the other hand, if the work is registered for use in common product categories, it will be easy for the trademark owner to compete with any other copyright-based products after the copyright expires. conflict with those who use the work. Therefore, one should be cautious about registering such trademarked works for use on books and other works-carrying goods; in addition, trademarking a work without copyright should be presumed to be using the trademark in the secondary sense of the work, which The limited restriction principle of trademark rights should apply to the use, that is, others cannot be prohibited from printing the representative graphic work on the carrier for the purpose of explaining the content of the work carrier that they have the right to print.

The difference between trademark and copyright

First, there are multiple registered trademarks of the same/similar categories, and the ownership of trademark rights is not necessarily unique. The corresponding copyright of the same original work is unique.

Second, the objects of registered trademarks are goods and services, which serve to identify them; the objects of copyright are works, which serve to protect rights and interests.

Third, the validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, that is, the exclusive registered trademark is protected during the ten-year period of validity, but it can be renewed countless times. Therefore, trademark rights may last indefinitely. The author of a copyright belongs to a natural person, and the protection period is from the author's lifetime to 50 years after his death. After expiration, some copyright rights expire.

Fourth, the application time for registered trademarks currently takes a long time; while copyright registration can be obtained in about one month, and the time difference between the two is too big.

Fifth, a registered trademark must be applied for and approved by the Trademark Office to be registered, and copyright is born from the date of completion of the original work, which is not mandatory. Registration is required to generate.

In fact, from the above analysis, we can see that according to our country's legal provisions, it is illegal to use the copyright owner's work as a trademark without the permission of the copyright owner. The situation is very difficult to define illegal behavior. After all, the difference between copyright and trademark rights is extremely obvious. If you do not want your work to be used as a trademark, you can negotiate with the other party. If it is difficult to negotiate, please consult a lawyer. The Legal Savior Network also provides online lawyers. Consulting services, you are welcome to provide legal consultation.