Are registered trademarks during the renewal period protected by law?
The exclusive right of a registered trademark has a time limit, not Once registered you have unlimited exclusive use. The validity period of a registered trademark is the period of effective protection of the registered trademark by law. Article 39 of the Trademark Law stipulates: "The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years, calculated from the date of approval of registration." During this period, the trademark owner enjoys the exclusive right to his registered trademark, and others are not allowed to use it illegally, otherwise Trademark owners can request legal protection. In this sense, it can be said that after the validity period of a registered trademark expires, the trademark right will be extinguished, and the original trademark owner can no longer request legal protection if his registered trademark is infringed.
However, according to Article 40 of the Trademark Law, the trademark owner has the right to renew the registered trademark. After the trademark owner fulfills the statutory procedures within the statutory period, he can continue to enjoy the exclusive right after the expiration of the registered trademark, so that the registered trademark continues to be protected by law. The period stipulated by law for trademark owners to renew registered trademarks is called the renewal period, which consists of two parts:
First, six months before the expiration of the registered trademark months. If the trademark owner needs to continue to use the registered trademark, he should apply for renewal of registration within this period;
Second, six months after the expiration of the registered trademark , also known as the extension period, if the trademark owner fails to apply for renewal within six months before the expiration of the registered trademark, he can still go through the renewal procedures. In other words, the renewal period of a registered trademark is the period during which the trademark owner applies to extend the validity period of his registered trademark, which is also the period during which he applies for continued legal protection of his registered trademark. After the renewal application is approved, the registered trademark will continue to be protected by law from the day after the original validity period expires; if the renewal application is ultimately rejected, the trademark right will be extinguished from the expiration of the registered trademark validity period. Therefore, there will be a special period between the expiration of the registered trademark and whether the renewal application is approved, during which the exclusive right to use the registered trademark is in an uncertain state.
Registrar during the renewal periodLegal protection of the subject matter
The legal effect of a registered trademark during the renewal period can be summarized as the following basic points:
First, if an application for renewal is made during the validity period of a registered trademark, whether it is approved before the expiration of the validity period, during the extension period or after the expiration of the extension period, the registered trademark will be continuously valid. The validity period of the renewed registration shall be calculated from the day after the expiration of the previous validity period. The law will continue to protect it. Any illegal use of the registered trademark shall constitute infringement.
Second, if an application for renewal is made during the extension period, and the original trademark owner requests to deal with the infringement of the registered trademark before the renewal application, the People's Court and the Industrial and Commercial Administration will The management agency should not accept it. Even if the subsequent renewal application is approved, the original trademark owner will not have the right to claim damages for infringements that occurred before the application was filed during the extension period.
Third, if the renewal application within the validity period or extension period of the registered trademark is not approved, the exclusive right to use the registered trademark will be extinguished from the date of expiration. . The original trademark owner shall not request legal protection on the grounds that others have infringed upon the registered trademark.
Fourth, between the expiration of the validity period and the final rejection of the renewal application, if others infringe the registered trademark, the renewal applicant has the right to request the People's Court, Industry and Commerce Administrative agencies or other competent departments protect registered trademarks. The competent authority shall file the case or accept the case and provide advance protection, but the request for compensation for losses shall be made after the renewal application has been verified and determined.
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