What is similar trademark protection?

Trademarks are very important to a company and are related to its image. Therefore, many large companies spend a lot of money to hire professional design companies to design their Trademarks. This has also caused many competitors to imitate and design similar trademarks. So what is the protection of similar trademarks? The editor of Legal Savior Network will answer it for you below.

How is similar trademark protection

1. Register first and then use the trademark.

Unregistered trademarks do not enjoy exclusive rights, and others can also use the trademark. If a company's trademark is used first and then registered, it will be easily counterfeited or registered by others; once it is registered by others, the company will be passive. To regain the trademark, it can only resort to law, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the success is uncertain. If the exclusive right to use a trademark is lost, the company is likely to lose the market it has developed. There are many examples of this. Therefore, companies should register their trademarks first and then use them. Since trademark registration takes a long time (it takes more than a year from application to registration approval), it is best to register more backup trademarks in advance to meet the needs of enterprise development.

2. Choose a trademark with a unique design.

When choosing a trademark, on the premise that it does not violate the prohibited provisions of Articles 10 and 11 of the Trademark Law, the trademark must be as distinctive as possible and stand out from the public. Differences and distinctive features allow consumers to recognize them at a glance and never forget them. If you blindly imitate other people's trademarks, you may not only infringe other people's prior rights, but also destroy your own credibility.

3. Choose a trademark that consumers like.

Trademarks used on goods or services are directly oriented to consumers, so the following factors should be considered when choosing: (1) It should not be too complex or cumbersome, and should be easy to remember. (Easy for consumers to remember), easy to see (eye-catching, prominent, giving a deep visual impression). (2) Pay attention to the pronunciation of the trademark. The pronunciation of the trademark text should be catchy, easy for consumers to call, and easy to convey information. (3) Pay attention to the politics, religion, customs, habits, language and other factors of different countries and ethnic groups, and avoid words and graphics that may cause adverse consequences. For example, the translation of the "Blue Sky" trademark into "BLUESKY" is correct, but it was greatly ignored after entering the US market. The reason is that "BLUESKY" means "irrecoverable bond" in English.

4. Register a defense trademark.

"Defense trademarks" refer to trademarks registered to prevent others from using their registered trademarks to cause damage, including defensive trademarks and joint trademarks. Defensive trademarks refer to trademark owners registering their trademarks in other non-registered trademarks. This can extend the scope of protection of registered trademark rights on similar goods. A joint trademark refers to the registration of two or more similar trademarks on the same or similar goods. For example, after applying for "Jianwei Bao", you can also register "Bao Jianwei" and "Jianwei Bao". "Weijianbao" and other trademarks, but it should be noted that when the trademark is transferred, the joint trademark cannot be transferred separately, but must be transferred together.

5. International registration of trademarks.

If an enterprise does not register a trademark in a foreign country, and if the trademark has been registered when the product is exported to that country, it will face the risk of being sued for infringement. Therefore, in the long run, the enterprise For development reasons, international registration of trademarks should be done well. At present, the simplest, most time-saving and labor-saving system is the Madrid International Registration System. Through this system, you can obtain exclusive rights protection for registered trademarks in the member countries of the Madrid Agreement or Protocol. The procedures are simple and the registration is The cost is much cheaper than registration in a single country.

6. The unified trademark and the enterprise name are the same.

It is best for an enterprise to register its trademark as a trade name. This can effectively prevent others from registering and using a well-known trademark of the company as a trade name in its name, misleading the public and damaging the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise. Unification of trademarks and trade names has the effect of It is conducive to corporate publicity, and also conducive to consumers' remembering and distinguishing.

7. Prominent promotional trademarks.

Some companies often highlight the common name of the product on the outer packaging of their products, ignore the use of trademarks, and place the trademark in an inconspicuous position, turning it into a "little button"; in advertising, they introduce products and services in a vast and vast way. Enterprises, however, avoid talking about trademarks. Ignoring the use and promotion of trademarks cannot help consumers "recognize the brand and purchase goods", causing the trademark to lose its role in distinguishing the source of goods and services, and naturally the trademark visibility cannot be improved.

1. What is a similar trademark

Trademark similarity is a concept in trademark law. Refers to: The similarity in the glyphs, pronunciations, meanings of the characters of the two trademarks or the composition, coloring and appearance of the graphics, or the similarity in the overall arrangement and appearance of the combination of the characters and graphics, or the similarity in the shape and appearance of their three-dimensional marks, or The colors or color combinations are similar and can be easily used on the same or similar goods or services.Cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of goods or services.

2. How to determine similar trademarks

Similar trademarks are based on their composition Depending on the elements, they can also be divided into similar word trademarks, similar graphic trademarks and similar word and graphic combination trademarks. Determining similar trademarks is more complicated. Let’s talk about several issues in similar trademarks.

(1) Text approximation problem. It is easier to distinguish whether a single word trademark is similar, such as "LEI" and "LEI", both of which have similar glyphs or pronunciations. If the significant part of a trademark consisting of two or more words is the same, the two trademarks are similar.

(2) Graphic approximation problem. Comparing two graphic trademarks, if the overall structure of the graphic is similar and the visual effect is the same, then the two are similar trademarks. The overall structure refers to the structure of the significant part of the trademark, excluding the background image of the graphic trademark; the same visual effect refers to the intuitive effect of ordinary consumers, and does not refer to the conclusion after careful comparison. During the trademark review, there are large differences of opinion on whether graphic trademarks are similar. The main reason is that everyone has different intuitive feelings about graphics. In judicial practice, judging whether a graphic trademark is similar is mainly based on the general evaluation of ordinary consumers.

Identical or similar trademarks on identical or similar goods and services will cause consumers to misunderstand the source of the goods or services, causing confusion.

If readers need legal help, they are welcome to go to the Legal Savior Network for legal consultation.