The number of international trademark registration applications is increasing year by year, but very few can actually successfully register international trademarks. Whether it is a new generation Internet entrepreneurial company or a traditional enterprise, trademark registration strategy is very important.
So what can we do to improve the approval rate of international trademark registration? Let’s take a look.
1. Countries or regions that apply for international trademark registration as soon as possible
For countries where companies already have products exported, countries that are particularly prone to trademark squatting, such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, etc., and for companies that enjoy a certain degree of popularity in the country, it is recommended to register international trademarks in these countries and regions as early as possible< /p>
2. Prepare for trademark registration according to the company’s long-term market plan
If an enterprise plans to sell its products to a new country or region (where no products have been exported before), it should register its trademark in advance. Otherwise, once the trademark is registered by someone else or the registration is delayed for other reasons, it will lead to The company’s products cannot enter the market as scheduled, thus losing great opportunities.
3. Register trademarks in some countries or regions in batches
For those countries or regions whose market conditions are not very mature or are not yet ready to enter, batch registration can be adopted later. However, Shenzhen Asia Alliance Intellectual Property recommends that such trademarks can be completed through batch registration. Currently, batch methods include EU trademark registration (EU trademark covers 28 countries) and Madrid international trademark registration (Madrid international trademark covers more than 90 countries and regions. However, you need to specify the effective country separately).
4. Distinguish between the principles of “first to register” and “first to use” for trademarks
For countries with civil law systems and most countries and regions in the world, they adopt the principle of “first registered” for trademarks, that is, whoever registers the trademark first will enjoy the exclusive rights to the trademark. Representative countries such as China . The common law system adopts the “first to use” principle, that is, whoever uses a trademark first in commercial activities will enjoy the exclusive rights to the trademark, representing countries such as the United States.
5. Cleverly use trademark registration priority to advance the trademark application time
According to the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Convention), if a trademark applicant from a contracting country files an application for trademark registration for the first time in its own country, and then files an application for the same trademark registration in another contracting country, the trademark applicant shall file the first application for trademark registration in another contracting country. Priority will be granted within 6 months from the filing date. The date when the application is first filed is also called the priority date. In short, within 6 months from the date of filing a domestic trademark registration application, as long as the same trademark application is filed in other Paris Convention contracting countries, the date of the trademark application will be transferred to the date of the first domestic trademark application.
Companies or individuals can get some data results by searching on the official website, but due to the lack of knowledge about trademarks, we cannot get a more accurate conclusion even if we check them one by one. However, search is not just about entering keywords and categories in the query box, but also includes analysis of the results and estimation of the probability of successful trademark registration. Therefore, most enterprises or companies will choose to entrust an agency to register their trademark.
What specifically can that person or company do in the trademark search section?
It is recommended that trademark applicants select 1 to 3 trademarks before applying for registration, and entrust an agency to check them at the same time. After the results come out, we at least ensure that we have room for choice. Or when the results show that the pass rate of trademark registration is not high, within an acceptable range, the original trademark should be modified according to the agency’s opinions and the application should be re-searched and submitted, thereby reducing the coefficient of trademark registration failure.