As early as the Song Dynasty, merchants already had the awareness to create their own brands. However, there were no legal restrictions on intellectual property rights at that time. The same high-quality name was often used by multiple merchants, and the effect of guiding customers to purchase was getting weaker and weaker. Imagine that the east side inn was called “Longmen Inn” and the west side inn was also called “Longmen Inn”. So which “Longmen Inn” is the customer’s favorite?
With the needs of economic development, the “Trademark Law” was born and continuously improved. Brand names registered as trademarks enjoy exclusivity and cannot be used by others without authorization.
The emergence of regulations has controlled the occurrence of trademark imitation and plagiarism to a certain extent, but it cannot prevent it. Therefore, companies need to use certain technical means to avoid risks. To avoid these risks, it is recommended that you consider the following questions when registering a trademark:
1. Has the company name been registered as a trademark?
Trade name protection scope: only protected in the place of registration, not restricted by field;
Trademark: protected in the country of registration, only the application category is protected;
Trademarks and trade names have different protection scopes and degrees of protection; if a company’s trade name is registered by others, it will affect the company’s later operations, or even require it to change its name.
2. Have all the prospective trademark categories been registered?
In the process of production and operation, due to development needs, enterprises are likely to extend from their main business fields to other fields. This requires enterprises to be forward-looking when applying for trademarks, and combine their main business fields and All trademark categories in the fields that will be involved in the future are registered, just in case.
3. Has the trademark category that must be registered been registered?
Class 35 – Advertising class is called the “universal trademark class”. That year, after Alibaba successfully registered the 35th category trademark for Double Eleven, it asked the media to block JD.com’s advertising on the grounds that JD.com had used the word Double Eleven in its advertising slogan without permission, infringing Alibaba’s trademark rights.
4. Have you registered the corresponding category trademark in advance before joining the platform?
As the Internet develops today, small programs, Douyin, WeChat, Tmall, Taobao, etc. have taken over our work and life. Registering software and communication trademarks in advance can help companies protect their own brand.
5. Is there multi-category protection?
In addition to protecting the main business category, you should also apply for protection of trademarks in similar categories, such as quilts and cotton, the raw material for quilts. Of course, some trademarks that damage the brand image should also apply for protection. Only by holding the ownership of the trademark firmly in your own hands can you prevent malicious competition from others, such as Dongpeng Special Drinks and Dongpeng Toilet.
6. Is there any approximate protection?
For example, Alibaba has registered Alibaba, Alimama, Uncle Ali, etc. as trademarks to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.
7. Is there a trademark monitoring system established?
The world is so big and full of wonders. In the process of using a trademark, it is inevitable that some interested people will worry about it. There are many cases of applying for similar trademarks, imitation of famous brands, and plagiarism. If the trademark owner fails to understand the information in a timely manner and take measures, it is likely to affect the quality of the corporate brand and even lose trademark ownership. Establishing a monitoring system can effectively monitor trademark dynamics and help companies respond promptly and take measures to prevent or combat infringements.