Trademark infringement accounts for the highest proportion of intellectual property infringement in cross-border e-commerce, and the Trademark Law is an important basis for customs to carry out customs protection of intellectual property rights, but the protection of trademark rights by customs cannot be directly equated with the provisions of the Trademark Law. According to the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law, the following three acts are all acts of infringement of trademark exclusive rights.
First, using a trademark identical to its registered trademark on the same kind of goods without the permission of the trademark registrant. Second, using a trademark similar to its registered trademark on the same kind of goods without the permission of the trademark registrant. Third, using a trademark identical to or similar to its registered trademark on similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion. In 2012, Apple Inc. of the United States was sued to court for infringing Shenzhen Proview’s iPad trademark rights. In the end, Apple paid $60 million to obtain the transfer of the iPad trademark rights and settled the case. At that time, Proview was on the verge of bankruptcy, with hundreds of creditors. Its largest property valuation was mainly concentrated on the value of the iPad trademark, which brought Shenzhen Proview back to life. It can be seen that maintaining the reputation and rights of its own brand is crucial for every company.
In the process of cross-border e-commerce transactions, infringement of trademark rights mainly manifests itself in the following four aspects.
First, some online platforms and online stores sell the exclusive right of the registered trademark of the right holder without the authorization of the right holder.
Second, use trademarks similar to trademarks registered by others on the Internet.
Third, use the company, business name, and trademark logo that others have legally obtained without permission.
Fourth, the infringement of domain name registration that is identical or similar to the trademark of others and the infringement of the right to use others’ trademarks online.
Not all trademark infringements fall within the scope of intellectual property protection implemented by customs. Based on the principle of “no complaint, no action” and the characteristics of customs administrative law enforcement, customs can only protect the trademarks applied for filing by enterprises, and it is not necessary to investigate and deal with the “similar trademarks” referred to in the Trademark Law. In practice, the practices of customs in various places are not completely consistent. Therefore, if import and export enterprises want to fully protect the intellectual property rights of their products, they can consider applying for filing of the main trademark, secondary trademark, and defensive trademark of the products with the customs. One trademark, one application is the most reliable trademark protection measure.