Can an individual apply for a trademark that is similar to a foreign language?

In the definition of trademark infringement, there is no doubt that the perpetrator’s use of the same trademark as the trademark owner constitutes infringement, and the use of a trademark that is similar to the trademark owner also constitutes trademark infringement. However, the meaning of trademark similarity is ambiguous. How does our country's law stipulate it? In this article, the editor of Legal Savior Network will introduce to you how to identify "trademark similarity" in similar trademark infringement.

Can an individual apply for a trademark that is similar to a foreign language?

No. Individuals applying for trademarks should avoid similarities with foreign languages.

According to Article 30 of China’s Trademark Law It stipulates: “If a trademark applied for registration does not comply with the relevant provisions of this Law or is identical or similar to a trademark that has been registered or preliminarily approved by others on the same or similar goods, the Trademark Office will reject the application and will not publish it.

"Similar trademark" refers to words, numbers, graphics Or trademark elements such as color combinations that are somewhat different in pronunciation, visual meaning, arrangement order, and overall, but are likely to cause confusion.

The principle for determining whether a trademark is identical or similar is to "take the general attention of the relevant public as the standard" and make a judgment based on the general attention of the relevant public.

Method for determining similarity of trademarks

With regard to the determination of trademark similarity, in addition to following the above principles, the following methods must also be applied.

1. Overall comparison method

Overall comparison refers to comparing the similarity of two trademarks. Observe the combination of the elements constituting a trademark as an indivisible whole to see whether the overall impression left by the two trademarks on the relevant public is likely to lead to confusion. The overall comparison of trademarks is determined based on the psychological characteristics of consumers. Consumers' overall impression generally plays a decisive role in judging trademark similarity. If the specific elements of a trademark logo are different, but the overall similarity is similar, consumers may still misunderstand them. On the contrary, even if the specific elements of the trademark logo are the same, but the overall does not constitute similarity or misunderstanding, it still does not constitute trademark similarity.

2. Main part comparison method

In addition to overall comparison, trademark similarity also needs to be supplemented by Main part comparison method. The main part comparison method is a necessary complement to the overall observation method. The key to the main part comparison method lies in the judgment of the "main part".

my country only proposes "main Partial comparison" method,However, under what circumstances a "main part comparison" is to be carried out and what constitutes a "main part" are not clearly defined. In judicial practice, most descriptive or general parts are not regarded as “main parts”. Regarding trademarks that combine text and graphics, based on the role of the text call function in commodity circulation, which has a great impact on the judgment of similarity, the text part will generally be given priority as the "main part".

In the judgment of trademark similarity, the "overall comparison The application of the "matching" method and the "main part comparison" method is not absolute and must be judged based on the specific composition of the compared trademarks and the actual circumstances of each case.

3. Isolation observation method

Isolated observation refers to comparing the two trademarks when judging whether they are similar. The impression left by one trademark on the relevant public is used as the standard to judge whether another trademark is similar.

The above is what the editor of Hualu compiled for you Regarding knowledge, if you have more questions, you can consult a professional lawyer on the Legal Savior Network, or directly entrust a Legal Savior Network lawyer to help you get out of your legal dilemma.