Why Is A Trademark Registration Certificate So Important?

In recent years, with the increasing awareness of intellectual property protection, trademark registration has become a required course for Chinese enterprises and individuals to do business. Because the general enterprises and individuals are not familiar with the trademark laws and regulations and have no professional channels to inquire whether the trademark they want to register is similar to the registered trademark, the trademark agency has gradually become the first choice for businessmen.

Xicheng District Tea Horse Street, near the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and commerce, is the most widely distributed area of trademark agencies in China. When he registered trademark registration for several famous enterprises, he was very confident in his professional degree. However, because of an uncontrollable factor, she is faced with customers' queries every day.

"Yes, you have passed the examination and approval, but the registration certificate is not available. Can I call you when the registration card comes down?" when he sat down in his office, he received a call from a client and asked about the issue of the registration card.

"We are worried now. What do you call this?" last August 21st to now, the trademark office did not give a certificate. According to China's trademark law and regulations, the application time of trademark application is generally 9 months. After the initial approval, there will be a 3 month notice period. The registration will be approved without registration, and the registration certificate will be delivered to the customer in one month.

In practice, this process is often delayed due to factors such as insufficient announcements and layout. However, since last August 21st, apart from the trade mark expired in June and July, the firm has never obtained a registration certificate from the trademark office. This is not the case of an office in Mexico: all the agencies and individual applicants can not get the full and registered trademark registration certificate issued after August 21st and after the announcement.

During the conversation, Mo received another phone call from a client. "You haven't got it yet. Then you can't depend on me. Today we go to get the document, or a registration certificate. I really don't know when to give him the answer. As for the reasons for not issuing the certificate, Mo repeatedly consulted the relevant departments of the Trademark Office, and also asked the internal news through friends. The answer is the same: there is no paper printed on the registration card, and it can not print out.

"This is not the responsibility of our office. This is the case all over the country. Whenever an organization can get a registration certificate, I dare to go to the Trademark Office to fight for you. The problem is that the whole country can't get it, do you know? "Mo's customer said on the phone that he would ask the Trademark Office himself. He explained," you fight, and the China Trademark Office has telephone online. Will you try to get through? "

The manufacturer was notified of huge losses.

"Customers call me every day, because no registration card, Tmall, Jingdong let their goods shelves, shopping malls supermarket to see you, this registration card can not get old, let you directly collect stall. People's pharmaceutical factory must have a registration certificate to go to the food and Drug Administration for approval. There are also some lawsuits, there is no registration certificate, there is no basis for safeguarding rights. "

In Mexico, he found a customer's information displayed in the system to the Beijing evening news reporter. Statistics show that the company applied for a registered trademark in December 28, 2013 and passed the preliminary examination in May 20, 2015. The August 21st announcement of the same year expired. "You see, this notice period has already been completed, and it should be issued as early as possible. Two days ago, they sent me a picture. The regional agents told them that if the registration card was not in place within 10 days, the supermarkets in the local shopping malls would have to complete their shelves and their agents would have to stop working with them.

"This notice was sent to me by the local agent." Chen Xing (a pseudonym) is a salesperson of the company. "I am in charge of the business in Chongqing, Sichuan. No. 18, I just came back from Chengdu, and I talked with them about that. After returning to confirm that the registration certificate has not come down, the agent issued the notice. The company that Chen Xing serves is an old textile enterprise in Hebei province. Its business scope is all over the country. After two and a half years, it commissioned the Trademark Office of Mexico to register the trademark. "The trademark registration certificate is slow to come down. The reply given by the office is that the trademark Office of our country can't print it out."

Chen Xing told reporters that many agents in Sichuan and Chongqing, including those in charge of Sichuan and Chongqing, said that if they could not get the trademark registration certificate again, they would have to take off the products of their company. "The loss is very huge. I also suggested to Mr. Mo, can we get a proof from the trademark office? After all, our trademark registration has been completed, but it is not printing out for the reason of the country."

Fortunately, the agent and Chen Xing service company have worked together for many years. After communicating with each other, they know the inside story, so now they have maintained the state of neither replenishment nor landing.

"If it causes us to end more than a decade of cooperation, it will be too worthless, so the agents are very considerate of us, and try our best to communicate with us. But in the final analysis, the problem is still on our side. I really hope that the registration card will come down quickly and not too difficult for the partners." Chen Xing said.

In August, no paper was purchased in January.

"Trademark registration certificate that paper, it is not ordinary paper, but similar to the renminbi, anti-counterfeiting function. Recently, it may be a registration certificate that needs to be upgraded and new requirements for paper. But we are also thinking, is purchasing really so difficult? Or is there any other problem? For example, the paper does not match the printer, or what is the problem with the information system? But these trademark offices have not been announced, and the public notice of the Trademark Office has not been seen on the website. Mo said that she also asked the trademark office many times, only to know that there was a problem with the paper.

The reporter came to the China Trademark Office, and asked the staff to consult with the window staff. Why did they not get the registration certificate at the expiration of the notice, and the staff asked when the notice was expired. The reporter said it was August 21st. "It hasn't been printed yet. The trademark office doesn't have that kind of paper now." The staff explained, "since August and September last year, the registration certificate has not come down."

Reporters in the Chinese government procurement online inquiry, the State Administration for Industry and commerce general office assets in January 14, 2016 issued a "trademark registration certificate procurement project procurement notice", purchase 3 million trademark registration certificate; in January 26, 2016, the procurement project transactions.

Now, is the paper in place now? The reporter called the project leader in the announcement of the transaction. The person in charge said he was the agent of the government procurement center. He did not know the progress of the specific transaction after the project was concluded, and the buyer should be consulted in the specific circumstances. Reporters then called the procurement side of the General Administration of industry and Commerce Office of the assets of the telephone, the telephone staff said that the project leader is temporarily absent, unable to answer.

The reporter called the general office of the Trademark Office, and the staff said that the relevant business of the trademark registration certificate should be contacted with the trademark inspection cooperation center directly under the General Administration of industry and commerce, because the printing business was the responsibility of the center; the staff of the review and cooperation center indicated that the paper had just arrived on Monday March 28th, and now it has begun to print, but it is not clear when the specific time can be issued.

"That's what I said, but maybe I'm going to continue to prevaricate you." Yu Heng (a pseudonym) is a well-known law firm in Beijing. intellectual property right Lawyer, "we practitioners are very surprised. What time is this? Can we still have such a situation that the paper has not been issued for more than half a year?"

Yu Heng said that before the trademark office had been unable to query for half a year, "in the past six months, no trademark can be found for anyone who has registered any trademark in the whole country. Brand protection is an important part of economic development, which is a great loss to the GDP of the country. "

Why is a trademark registration certificate so important?

Yu Heng told reporters that our country does not prohibit the sale of unregistered trademarks, and even the protection of unregistered trademarks is increasing. So why are shopping malls and supermarkets going to have shelves without a trademark registration certificate?

"According to reason, it is not necessary. register Trademarks can be produced and sold, but shopping malls, supermarkets and other platforms will be required to register for avoiding evasion of their own risk. First, they should avoid accusing them of selling products or fakes on platform sales. Two, if the unregistered trademarks violate the rights of registered trademarks, Ping Tai will be involved in disputes between the two sides. Yu Heng said that this is a normal risk aversion behavior of platform enterprises.

In fact, the more important use of trademark registration certificate is that it is an important basis for trademark rights protection. Yu Heng introduced that there are two ways to protect trademark rights in China: administrative channels and judicial channels. The former refers to complaints to local industrial and commercial administrative departments and public security bureaus. The latter is to sue other people for infringement of their trademark rights, but no matter what kind of trademark, they are inseparable from the trademark registration certificate.

"If there is no evidence, I go to the local industry and Commerce Bureau to complain that others infringe upon my trademark right. But because the Trademark Office has no paper, I can not get the registration card now. Most places will be dogmatic." But safeguarding rights may be imminent. I have been making trademark rights protection for many years, and in many cases, evidence must be submitted in two or three days. Now the Trademark Office's behavior can be said to have a very serious impact on the brand protection of enterprises. During the period of delay, did anyone else infringe upon my trademark right?

Yu Heng told reporters that in the case of the Trademark Office's behavior seriously affecting the normal operation of enterprises, enterprises can sue the trademark office.

Expert opinion

No more than half a year. Trademark registration certificate What is missing is not paper but responsibility.

Trademark is the identity card of the product. It is a business card for the enterprise to mold its own brand, and also a magic weapon for protecting intellectual property rights. However, since last August, all the enterprises that passed the examination and announcement have been unable to get a long-awaited trademark registration certificate. After investigation by the media, the reason is that the special paper of the trademark registration certificate is "no", and can not print out. Yesterday, the State Administration of industry and Commerce responded that it had apologized to the trademark registrant and said that the supply of paper had been in place, and that it would work overtime and print and distribute it as soon as possible.

Half a year can not produce a trademark registration certificate. What is missing is not paper. What is missing is the responsibility of serving the economy and society. In 2014, the total number of trademark applications in China was 2 million 285 thousand, and at that time, at least about 1000000 registered trademarks that had been registered earlier, because of this strange reason, could not be printed and put into use, resulting in the termination of some enterprises' products, the termination of contracts, and the delay in investment.

Half a year can not produce a trademark registration certificate, and even a notice or statement does not show that the relevant functional departments are unrealistic and lazy. Why does the special paper that print the trade mark registration card fail to be scientifically estimated, resulting in a sudden break? Why can't we disclose the real reasons for the delay when the paper can not be printed? Why did it not disclose the real reason for the delay in time to the application enterprise? In August last year, there was a shortage of paper. Why did it issue the procurement notice in the Chinese government procurement network in January this year?

The decentralization of power and the reform of the commercial system greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the people to start their own businesses. Now, more than 10000 new businesses are added every day, and the number of applications for trademark registration has also increased significantly. Enterprises should be born, but also to make the enterprises live well. But if there are frequent mistakes in "paper", how can enterprises operate normally and grow healthily?

Changing the functions of the government should not only ease the market, but also highlight the optimization of services. And the sense of responsibility is the "registered trademark" of all levels of government to serve well. Only by keeping the earth accountable and reforming the effectiveness will not be hindered by the "last mile". We must resolutely remove and seriously accountability for the "intestinal obstruction" that fails to fulfill its duties and perfunctory responsibilities.