1. What are the regulations on the review and approval of trademark registration?
"Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 28 applies for registration For trademarks, the Trademark Office shall complete the review within nine months from the date of receipt of the trademark registration application documents. If it complies with the relevant provisions of this Law, a preliminary review and announcement shall be made.
Article 29: During the review process, if the Trademark Office believes that the content of the trademark registration application needs explanation or correction, it may require the applicant to make explanations or corrections. If the applicant fails to make explanations or corrections, it will not affect the Trademark Office’s examination decision.
Article 30: Any trademark applied for registration that does not comply with the relevant provisions of this Law or has been registered or preliminarily approved with others for the same or similar goods If the trademarks are identical or similar, the Trademark Office will reject the application and will not publish it.
Article 31 Two or more trademark registration applicants apply for the same or similar trademarks on the same goods or similar goods. For registration, the trademark previously applied for will be preliminarily reviewed and announced; for applications filed on the same day, the trademark previously used will be preliminarily reviewed and announced, and applications from others will be rejected and will not be announced.
Article 32: Application for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall it be used to preemptively register others that have already used it and have certain influence by unfair means. 's trademark.
Article 33: For a trademark that has been initially approved and announced, within three months from the date of announcement, if the prior rights holder or interested party believes that it violates this The provisions of Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 13, Paragraph 1 of Article 15, Paragraph 1 of Article 16, Article 30, Article 31, and Article 32 of the Law, or any person who believes thatAnyone who violates the provisions of Article 4, Article 10, Article 11, Article 12 or Article 19, Paragraph 4 of this Law may file an objection with the Trademark Office. If there is no objection at the expiration of the announcement period, the registration will be approved, a trademark registration certificate will be issued, and the announcement will be made.
Article 34 For a trademark that rejects the application and refuses to be announced, the Trademark Office The applicant for trademark registration shall be notified in writing. If the trademark registration applicant is dissatisfied, he may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a decision within nine months from the date of receipt of the application and notify the applicant in writing. If there are special circumstances that require an extension, it can be extended for three months with the approval of the industrial and commercial administration department of the State Council. If the party concerned is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, it may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice.
Article 35: If an objection is raised against a trademark that has been initially approved and announced, the Trademark Office shall listen to the facts and reasons stated by the opponent and the person being opposed, and conduct investigation and verification. Afterwards, a decision will be made on whether to approve registration within twelve months from the expiration of the announcement period, and the opponent and the objected party will be notified in writing. If there are special circumstances that require an extension, it can be extended for six months with the approval of the industrial and commercial administration department of the State Council.
If the Trademark Office makes a decision to approve registration, it will issue a trademark registration certificate and make an announcement. If the opponent is dissatisfied, he may request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to declare the registered trademark invalid in accordance with the provisions of Articles 44 and 45 of this Law.
If the Trademark Office makes a decision not to register and the opponent is dissatisfied, he or she may apply to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board for review within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board shall make a review decision within twelve months from the date of receipt of the application, and notify the opponent and the opposed party in writing. If there are special circumstances that require an extension, it can be extended for six months with the approval of the industrial and commercial administration department of the State Council. If the opposed party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, it may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice. The people's court shall notify the opponent to participate in the litigation as a third party.
In the process of reexamination by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the determination of the prior rights involved must be based on the fact that the People's Court is currently hearing it or the administrative agency is handling it. The review may be suspended based on the outcome of another case. After the reasons for the suspension are eliminated, the review process should be resumed.
If the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board makes a reexamination decision not to file a lawsuit in the People's Court, the decision to reject the application, the decision not to register or the reexamination decision shall take effect.
For a trademark that is approved for registration after examination and objection is not established, the time for the trademark registration applicant to obtain the exclusive right to trademark shall be calculated from the expiration of the three-month period from the preliminary approval announcement. . From the expiration of the trademark announcement period until the decision to approve registration is made, there will be no retroactive effect on others' use of signs that are identical or similar to the trademark on the same or similar goods; however, due to the bad faith of the user Any losses caused to the trademark registrant shall be compensated.
Article 37: Applications for trademark registration and trademark review shall be reviewed in a timely manner.
Article 38 If a trademark registration applicant or registrant discovers that there are obvious errors in the trademark application documents or registration documents, they may apply for correction. The Trademark Office shall make corrections within the scope of its powers in accordance with the law and notify the parties involved.
The correction errors referred to in the preceding paragraph do not involve the substantive content of the trademark application documents or registration documents.
2. How is the validity period of a registered trademark determined?
"Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 39 The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, calculated from the date of approval of registration.
Article 40 If a registered trademark expires and needs to be continued to be used, the trademark registrant shall go through the renewal procedures in accordance with regulations within twelve months before expiration. ; If the application cannot be processed during this period, a six-month grace period can be given. Each renewal of registration is valid for ten years, starting from the day after the expiration of the previous term of validity of the trademark. If renewal procedures are not completed upon expiration, the registered trademark will be cancelled.
The Trademark Office shall announce the renewal of registered trademarks.
It can be seen that the review cycle for trademark registration is relatively long. Even if the Trademark Office has issued a preliminary review announcement, other natural persons, legal persons, etc. can register the trademark Therefore, you must pay attention to check for plagiarism before applying for trademark registration. If you infringe on the trademark rights of others, the trademark application will not be approved. I hope the above content can be helpful to you. If you stillIf you have other questions, you can click the button below for consultation, or go to the Legal Savior website to consult a professional lawyer.