1. Is it legal to speculate on trademarks
Whether it is legal to speculate on a trademark cannot be generalized. If a company sells without a registered trademark Products may also encounter the risk of being registered by others. If a company puts its trademark on goods for sale without registering a trademark, it may unintentionally constitute trademark infringement and be subject to penalties and financial compensation requirements. In serious cases, the company may go bankrupt! The Trademark Law stipulates that "without registration" The use of a trademark that is identical or similar to its registered trademark on the same or similar goods shall constitute an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark."
2. Register squatting trademarks Is it legal to sell?
It is unreasonable to sell a registered trademark. If you are found to be a malicious registered trademark, you will face severe punishment. Preemptive registration of trademarks refers to unregistered trademarks that have had a certain impact on others' prior use. We cannot preemptively register them by unfair means. Trademark squatting is an act of fact-finding. Generally, the ownership of the trademark is revoked and the original owner's ownership of the trademark is re-established. Generally, no other infringement liability will be assumed.
3. How to identify malicious squatting
(1) The applicant seeks unfair benefits, which is a subjective element of "malicious registration". The applicant applies for a trademark that has been used by others as his own trademark. , this behavior itself has already misappropriated the fruits of other people's labor. If the registration is successful, it is tantamount to stealing in a legal way. What is even more serious is that once the registration is successful, the "malicious registration" applicant becomes the legal owner. , that is, they will use their right to occupy a registered trademark to prohibit others from using the trademark that originally belonged to them, or use their right to dispose of it to transfer or license the use of the trademark to the person who has been registered at a high price. If these purposes cannot be achieved, an infringement lawsuit will be filed. Or report it to the industrial and commercial administration and ask for compensation.
(2) The applicant has adopted unfair means. This is the behavioral element. Unfair means means that the trademark registration applicant uses unreasonable or illegal methods to untruthfully describe the trademark in the trademark registration application and related materials provided. The relevant matters have been filled in, but for the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, it is impossible to review the authenticity of the application and related materials. Therefore, the determination of unfair means can only be made in the opposition procedure or in the subsequent application by the person squatting. In the process of canceling the trademark, the person who has been squatted must present evidence to prove that the applicant used unfair means.
4. What are unfair means
1. Applicants take advantage of their relationships with others. Small and medium-sized enterprises are most likely to become targets of squatting. Because small and medium-sized enterprises are launching themselves into the market When making products, they often do not register trademarks first and then launch the products. More often, they register trademarks only after their products have a certain impact.
2. Use the background of previous cooperation with others. As collaborators, they are most aware of the use of the trademark of the person being squatted. Some secretly registered the collaborator's trademark as their own during the cooperation period, while others transferred the collaborator's trademark to their own after the cooperation was over. Trademark registration first.
3. Other people in the same area who know the inside story . Take advantage of their different conditions and their own advantages, such as managers, legal advisors, reporters, trademark agents, etc., to learn about the operator's trademark use during news interviews or management work, and to foresee squatting Register first to benefit from the benefits brought by the trademark. What the above-mentioned unfair means have in common is that they plagiarize others' trademarks that have been used but have not yet applied for registration in the future. They do not condense their own wisdom and creativity into the trademarks they apply for registration. They essentially use deceptive methods. Means, using legal forms to cover up the illegal or unreasonable nature, violates the principle of "good faith".
If the registered trademark is within the allowed range, It can be regarded as healthy competition, but if a large number of trademarks are registered for a long time and then resold to make money, the nature will completely change and can even be regarded as malicious registration of trademarks. This situation is strictly prohibited by law. Once If this happens, you will be severely punished and may even be held criminally responsible.
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.
