CHINESE Trademarks
Trademarks are protected by national laws and registrants have exclusive rights. China has the difference between “registered trademark” and “unregistered trademark”. A registered trademark is a trademark protected by law after registration with the relevant government department, and an unregistered trademark is not protected by trademark law. The application process is as follows:
1. Registration preparation
Choose registration ways,One is to apply for registration at the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The other is to entrust an experienced trademark agency to register.
2.Preparation materials
Prepare 10 trademark drawings (color logos of designated colors, 10 coloring patterns, 1 black and white ink draft), length and width not more than 10 cm, not less than 5 cm. If the direction of the trademark pattern is unclear, should be marked with arrows above and below.If it is an individual's application, it is necessary to present an ID card and submit a copy and a copy of the individual business license, and the business scope is the same as the registered trademark; if the enterprise applies, it is necessary to provide a copy of the business license and submit a copy; A trademark registration application with the company's official seal is also required.
3. Start to apply
4. Apply according to the classification of goods and services
At present, goods and services are divided into 45 categories, of which 34 are commodities and 11 are service projects. When applying for registration, the category of goods or services using the trademark shall be determined according to the classification of the goods and services; if the same applicant uses the same trademark on different categories of goods, the application for registration shall be made according to different categories.
5. Determination of the application date
This is the most important point, the Chinese trademark registration adopts the principle of prior application , once you and other companies have disputes over trademark rights, the enterprises with the first application date will be protected by law. Therefore, it is very important to confirm the filing date. The date of application is subject to the date of receipt of the application by the Trademark Office. The next are the three procedures of trademark review, preliminary review announcement, and registration announcement. It should be emphasized that the trademarks that have been approved by the Trademark Office for the first time must be registered after three months after the publication of the announcement, and the trademark is protected by law. A registered trademark is valid for ten years from the date of approval of registration. If the validity period expires and you need to continue to use, you can apply for trademark renewal .
6. Receive a trademark registration certificate
After the trademark is registered, the Trademark Office issues a certificate to the registrant. If registered by the agency, Trademark Registration Certificate to be sent by the agent; if the registration is directly processed, the registrant shall get the certificate from the Trademark Office within three months after receiving the "Notice of Receiving the Trademark Registration Certificate", and also carry the letter of introduction of the trademark registration certificate, the ID card and photocopy of the certificate holder, the original of the business license copy and the photocopy stamped by the local industrial and commercial department, the notice of obtaining the trademark registration certificate.The change of the name of the registrant shall be accompanied by a certificate of change issued by the industrial and commercial department.
Note: A new application trademark will take about one year to three and a half years from the application to issue the certificate ,the application for acceptance and formal examination will take about one month, the substantive examination will take about 24 to 30 months, and the dispute period will be three months. Approved the announcement to the license for about 2-5 months.