What are the types of invalid trademark rights
(1) The registered trademark uses a sign that is prohibited from being used as a trademark
Article 10 of the "Trademark Law" stipulates that the use of a sign is prohibited from being used as a trademark The nine marks, including the names or logos of countries and international organizations, official signs or seals, signs that violate public order and good customs, etc., if these signs are registered as trademarks, or if the constituent elements of the registered trademark contain these prohibited Once any item in the mark is discovered, the registered trademark shall be declared invalid.
(2) The registered trademark lacks distinctiveness
Distinctiveness is a necessary condition for a trademark to be registered . Article 11 of the Trademark Law prohibits the registration of mere common names, graphics, models of goods, and signs that directly represent the characteristics of goods as trademarks. However, these marks are excepted if they have acquired distinctive features through use and are easy to identify. Article 12 stipulates that three-dimensional marks can be registered as trademarks, but functional three-dimensional marks cannot be registered. The generality of these marks makes them unsuitable for trademark registration. Therefore, if such marks are registered as trademarks without obtaining distinctiveness, they should be declared invalid once discovered.
(3) Obtaining trademark registration by deception or other unfair means
Mainly manifested as fictitious, Concealing the truth or forging application documents and related documents for registration, such as the applicant forging a business license, altering the business scope, etc.
(4) Conflict with the prior legal rights of others
The prior legal rights of others Rights refer to rights that have been obtained by others before when applying for trademark registration. If a registered trademark conflicts with the prior rights of others, it violates the principle of good faith and should therefore be declared invalid according to law. Situations in which a registered trademark conflicts with other people's prior rights mainly include being identical or similar to other people's previously registered trademarks or preliminarily approved trademarks, or being inconsistent with other people's portrait rights, name rights, copyrights, design patent rights, or trade mark rights.The rights of serial number, geographical indications, unique names of well-known commodities and packaging and decoration rights conflict with each other. So how to judge whether it conflicts with prior rights? Trademark applicants can log on to the China Trademark Network to conduct trademark searches to determine whether they are identical or similar. However, we should pay attention to the following two situations: First, when it conflicts with other people's name rights, if the name has a high rate of duplication or has other meanings, it will be difficult to use it even without the permission of the person. The second is that geographical indications belong to the public property of a place. All companies in the area can mark their products to indicate the origin. The use of false geographical indications for registered trademarks will not only mislead the public, but also conflict with the area. In this regard, Article 16 of the Trademark Law stipulates that if a registered trademark contains a false geographical indication, the interested party has the right to request that the registration is invalid, but the registration has been obtained in good faith by using the false geographical indication and continues to be valid. .
(5) Preemptive registration of other people’s trademarks
1. Preemptive registration of other people’s well-known trademarks
According to the provisions of Article 13 of the "Trademark Law", if a registered trademark on the same or similar goods is a copy, imitation or translation of another person's well-known name that has not been registered in China, If a trademark is found to be likely to cause confusion, the owner of the well-known trademark may request that the registration be declared invalid. If a registered trademark on different or dissimilar goods copies, imitates or translates a well-known trademark that has been registered in China by others, misleading the public and causing the interests of the registrant of the well-known trademark to be harmed, once it is discovered that the well-known trademark Everyone may request that the registration be declared invalid.
2. Preemptively register unregistered trademarks that have a certain influence on others
Unregistered trademarks that have a certain influence Registered trademarks, because they have a considerable history and scope of use, are known to the relevant public, have considerable competitiveness and can bring greater economic benefits, are often the targets of squatting registrations. To this end, Article 32 of the Trademark Law stipulates that unfair means may not be used to preemptively register a trademark that is already used by others and has a certain influence. If the trademark has already been registered, the trademark owner may request that the registration be declared invalid.
3. The agent or representative registers the trademark of the agent first
This is an agency The person or representative violates the contract with the agent and registers the agent's trademark as his own trademark, causing damage to the agent's trademark interests. This kind of behavior often occurs between import agents or custom-made processors and manufacturers or entrusting parties in international business activities. It is a dishonest behavior. Already notedIf the registration is registered, the principal may request that the registration be declared invalid.
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