A trademark is a mark registered by a company for its own brand. This mark allows people to distinguish the brand from other brands. There are also many classifications of trademarks. For example, they can be divided into word trademarks, graphic trademarks, letter trademarks, etc. according to their different structures. They can also be divided into commodity trademarks, service trademarks and collective trademarks according to the different users of the trademarks. What are the collective trademarks? ? The editor of Legal Savior Network will answer it for you.
1. What is a collective trademark
1. Collective trademark refers to a trademark registered in the name of a group, association or other organization, and is exclusively used by members of the organization in commercial activities to indicate that the user is in that group, association or other organization. A sign of membership in an organization. In some countries, federations of some enterprises may also be registered as representatives, and sometimes the government agencies leading these enterprises may register on their behalf.
2. The function of a collective trademark is to indicate to users Businesses using this trademark have common characteristics. An enterprise using a collective trademark has the right to use other exclusive trademarks at the same time. The trademark laws of my country, the United States, most Western countries with civil law systems, some Eastern European countries and some developing countries all have provisions for registration protection of collective trademarks.
2. Characteristics of collective trademarks
(1) A collective trademark does not belong to a single natural person, legal person or other organization, that is, it belongs to a community organization composed of multiple natural persons, legal persons or other organizations, which means that the goods or services originate from a certain collective Organization, this collective can be a specific guild, chamber of commerce and other industrial and commercial groups or other collective organizations, specific products orThe service provider retreats behind the collective as a collective member. Reflecting its "shared" and "shared" characteristics;
(2) A collective trademark is a collective right applied for registration and ownership in the name of a collective composed of members, and used jointly by all members. This is reflected in the application for registration of a collective trademark, which requires that only collectives with legal personality Organizations can apply, because only collective organizations with legal personality can own trademark rights in their collective independent name;
(3) The collective trademark is reflected in the use of the trademark, which means that the collective organization usually does not use the collective trademark, but is jointly used by the members of the organization; not the collective trademark Members of the organization cannot use it; each member has equal rights to use it, and there is no affiliation between members; at the same time, the use of its collective members must be supervised, and members who violate the rules of use must be dealt with;< /p>
(4) The registration, use and management of collective trademarks should be formulated and unified The rules of the collective shall specify the rights, obligations and responsibilities of members as well as the amount and purpose of management fees and make them public. Members of the collective shall abide by each other and be subject to public supervision;
(5) When a collective trademark has been infringed upon and claims for compensation for losses should include damages suffered by members of the collective organization Loss included;
(6) When a member When he withdraws from the collective, he can no longer use the collective trademark. When a new member joins, he can use the collective trademark by acquiring the status of a member. This membership status is not transferable. In this way, The right to use trademarks based on identity relationships cannot be transferred;
(7) Geographical indications can be registered as collective trademarks. If a geographical indication is registered as a collective trademark, its products must comply with A natural person, legal person or other organization that uses the geographical indication conditions may request to join a group, association or other organization that registers the geographical indication as a collective trademark. The group, association or other organization shall be admitted as a member in accordance with its articles of association; participation is not required A group, association or other organization that registers a geographical indication as a collective trademark may also use the geographical indication legitimately, and the group, association or other organization has no right to prohibit it.
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