Emperor Guangxu
How was trademark registration born? Recently, I saw the name of a well-known blogger and was maliciously registered by a company. The other party asked the blogger to stop using his registered trademark. It is said that bloggers use their real names, which is embarrassing. Malicious registration shot someone else's gun, and millions of fans of bloggers are also famous figures. Therefore, the blogger is still very confident, and finally the party who registered maliciously admitted it.
Because many people have a weak awareness of the protection of intellectual property rights, such as us from the media, as long as others don't use it, just take a name. There was no registered trademark, but it became famous later. It was maliciously registered by some trademark companies and then blackmailed with the trademark. This is obviously against professional ethics.
Of course, the name is also very common. You can register, but you can't let users change their real names, can you Just like Alibaba's Alipay, a person with the same name appeared in Shandong. It is said that this man named Alipay has opened a shop. Even if Alipay is famous, people use their own names, which were used decades ago, but they can't tell others, can they change their names?
It is estimated that many people don't know the birth of trademark registration. During the Opium War, with the opening of the Qing government, foreign businessmen began to do business in China. However, some mainland businessmen began to fake foreign goods, label foreigners privately and sell foreign goods. Many foreign businessmen have suffered great losses. In order to put an end to this kind of fake goods, foreigners forced the Qing government to issue a trademark protection law and set up a trademark registration bureau to protect foreigners' interests in China. Therefore, in 1904, the Qing government, headed by British customs official Hurd, promulgated the first trademark law in the history of China-the Articles of Association for Trial Trademark Registration.
The British implemented Article 28 of the Trial Regulations on Trademark Registration promulgated by the Qing government, following the provisions of the unequal treaty between China and Britain, with the aim of protecting the interests of the imperialists invading China. Of course, it also protects the interests of Chinese businessmen from the side. But at that time, China's business was just budding, so the articles of association mainly protected the interests of foreign businessmen in China.
Articles of association for trial registration of trademarks
Can people's names be registered as trademarks? With the promulgation of trademark registration laws and regulations, the trademark awareness of businessmen in Qing Dynasty was gradually strengthened, and businessmen began to pay attention to trademark protection when doing business. Of course, when we registered the trademark, we also encountered some troubles. What about those troubles? Let's have a look!
A novel written by Zhu, a novelist in the Republic of China, is called Writing Puchao. There is a description about trademark registration: there is a theater in Shanghai, and there is a dramatist named Qiu who sings very well and is very famous at that time. A businessman named Qiu also opened a theater at the suggestion of others, and named it Qiu and published it in the newspaper under the pseudonym of Qiu to attract customers. A dramatist named Qiu intends to negotiate with them. He thinks that a person's name is not a trademark. My surname is Qiu, and I can't let others not be Qiu. My name "Tian Min" can't forbid others to call me "Tian Min", even if the lawsuit is futile. Besides, there are 400 million compatriots in the world. There are too many people with the same name to refute. In the end, it can only be confused.
In fact, during the Qing government, many people knew that people's names could not be registered as trademarks. Because there are too many people with the same name in the country, especially those famous star names, even if you register, you can't get protection. If others really want to do business in their own names, you can't win if you want to sue them. So, when your name is maliciously registered, you don't have to worry at all.
The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is the cover of the market.
Foreigners attach so much importance to trademark protection that it may give us a warning! Westerners reinvent it and don't allow others to imitate it. Commodities must have trademarks, and one patent is not allowed to be used by others. It is stipulated in the Draft of Qing Dynasty, Diplomatic Relations 5, Germany: "All Chinese trademarks can enjoy the same protection benefits as German trademarks in Germany as long as they produce evidence issued by consulates in China to prove that the trademarks have been recognized in China and actually belong to the applicants." In addition to German trademarks being protected in China, China businessmen also have the right to protect their own trademarks in Germany. "The names and brands of China businessmen must be protected in Germany to avoid counterfeiting. German trademarks must also be protected in China to prevent counterfeiting. " The core clause of trademark registration is actually to prevent others from counterfeiting their own goods! Of course, trademarks must be registered with the Trademark Office to be protected. If it is not registered, it cannot be protected by law. Therefore, businessmen nowadays pay great attention to the trademark protection of their own brands in the process of doing business.
What are the benefits of trademark registration? "History of China in the Late Qing Dynasty" in Cambridge gives an example: "For example, where weaving is carried out from southern Hubei, farmers weavers or small businessmen take the cloth to the cloth market opened every day in Shashi to sell it. Wholesalers buy cloth in this market, which is graded according to quality, and each grade of cloth is labeled with brand-name labels (trademarks), indicating that it is a recognized quality guarantee for goods sold in Yunnan-Guizhou market. "
Qing dynasty trademark
Trademark is the function of distinguishing quality from popularity. Of course, another advantage is that you make a product bigger and famous. If you register a trademark. If the other party imitates your product, you can sue him and ask him to compensate you for your loss.
Now companies that maliciously register trademarks just go online to find some famous people. Due to the weak awareness of intellectual property protection, there is no registered trademark, and trademark companies take advantage of the law to register trademarks secretly. People who don't know the truth can't even say anything in the face of extortion. It can be said that there is no way to complain. In the face of this situation, there is no need to be afraid. Especially those bosses who use their own names don't have to worry about being registered at all.
Of course, if it is not your own name, then you should pay attention to the awareness of trademark protection. In order to avoid being registered by some malicious and immoral companies or individuals. Even if they don't blackmail you, you may not be able to register your product if you want to register it. Therefore, it is reasonable for foreigners to take the lead in proposing trademark registration and must be taken seriously.