Why are trademarks and trade names easily confused
There are similarities in the composition of trademarks and trade names (both can use Chinese characters ), and have the same function (both are carriers of goodwill).
Trademarks are used by producers and operators on their goods or services. A sign used to distinguish the source of goods or services. In short, a trademark is a sign of goods or services. Its basic function is to distinguish different goods or services.
According to the provisions of Article 8 of my country’s Trademark Law , “Any visible sign that can distinguish the goods of a natural person, legal person or other organization from the goods of others, including words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs and color combinations, as well as combinations of the above elements, can be used as trademarks Apply for registration...".
It can be seen that the constituent elements of trademarks are quite extensive, and among these elements, characters have become the more commonly used constituent elements of trademarks because they have the advantages of clear expression, good visual effects, and easy recognition and memory. one.
Trade name is the common name for the font size in the name of a company. It is a specific name used by commodity producers or operators in commercial transactions in order to indicate characteristics that are different from other commodity producers or operators. .
According to the "Enterprise Article 7 of the "Name Registration Management Regulations" stipulates that the name of an enterprise shall consist of administrative division, trade name, industry, and organizational form in order, unless otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations.
Since the company name is the code name of the company, and its most basic function is to distinguish other producers or operators, therefore , the company name is unique and is not allowed to be the same. Within the same administrative region, the administrative division, industry, and organizational form among the elements of the company name can be the same, but the only thing that is not allowed to be the same is the trade name.
It can be seen that the trade name is not only one of the legal components of the company name, but also its most critical The core part of the enterprise, only it has real recognition value. As an average consumer, only the trade name of the enterprise will be remembered, but the complete name of the enterprise will rarely be remembered.As part of the company name, the trade name should of course also use Chinese characters. Therefore, from the trademark Judging from the composition of a trade name, there are obviously more elements that constitute a trademark than there are elements that constitute a trade name. However, the only common component between them is Chinese characters.
This means that any trade name that meets the conditions stipulated in the Trademark Law can be registered as a trademark after being approved by the Trademark Office. Similarly, companies can also register A registered trademark becomes your own trade name after approval and registration by the industrial and commercial administration department. Although the trademark is used in the districtDifferent goods are distinguished, and trade names are used to distinguish different enterprises. However, since goods are produced by enterprises, and our country allows some industries to appropriately simplify their names, the simplified names are mostly trade names. Therefore, consumers usually Create confusion by associating a trademark with a trade name.
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