A trademark is a mark with distinctive features, which is used by producers and operators of goods on the goods they produce, manufacture, process, select or distribute, or by service providers on the services they provide, to distinguish the source of goods or services, and consists of words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs, sounds, color combinations, or a combination of the above elements. Article 3 of my country’s Trademark Law stipulates: “A trademark approved for registration by the Trademark Office is a registered trademark, including commodity trademarks, service trademarks, collective trademarks, and certification trademarks; the trademark registrant enjoys the exclusive right to the trademark and is protected by law.” Article 8 stipulates that “words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs, color combinations and sounds, etc., as well as a combination of the above elements” can apply for trademark registration, and does not protect a certain dynamic process that appears on the Internet as a trademark. Commercial activities carried out in the network environment have made people feel that using “visual perception” to identify trademarks is more adaptable to the development needs of modern commercial activities than using “words and patterns” to identify trademarks.
From the perspective of trademark owners, trademarks allow consumers to identify high-quality goods or services on the Internet and determine their sources. Trademark protection is not only conducive to protecting the interests of trademark owners from infringement, but also avoids the risk of consumers purchasing counterfeit and shoddy goods and services. However, as a graphic symbol, trademarks are easy to be copied and counterfeited on the Internet using technical means, and are being pursued by lawless elements.