There are obvious differences between design patents and trademarks:
First, different ideas. Simply put, design is a product decoration, and trademark is a distinctive symbol.
Second, the legal procedures for obtaining rights are different. There is no substantive examination of the patent for design. If others present evidence of public use earlier than the patent at the time of patent application or after the patent right is granted, the patent will be declared invalid or revoked. However, the registered trademark must pass the substantive examination, and the exclusive right can only be obtained after the objection period. The examination procedure is stricter than that of the design patent.
Third, the validity period of a design patent is 10 years from the date of application and cannot be renewed. The period of validity of the exclusive right to use a trademark is 10 year from the date of approval, and the registrant can apply for renewal, and each renewal time is 10 year. But in practice, trademarks and design patents are closely related. Because words, graphics or their combinations can be registered as trademarks and applied for design patents as decoration, there is a conflict between trademark rights and design patents.
199565438+February, the state administration for industry and commerce issued a document, put forward the opinions on handling the conflict between the exclusive right to use a trademark and the patent right of design, which pointed out that:
1. Trademark exclusive right and design patent right are important intellectual property rights, which are protected by trademark law and patent law respectively. The acquisition of these rights shall follow the principle of good faith in the general principles of civil law and shall not infringe upon the prior rights of others. That is, if a registered trademark infringes on the patent right of design previously obtained by others, the registered trademark may be revoked through the Trademark Office or the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board in accordance with improper legal procedures for trademark registration; Where the patent right for a design infringes upon another person's registered trademark, the exclusive right holder of the trademark may revoke the patent right through the Patent Office or the Patent Reexamination Board in accordance with the legal procedures for revoking the patent or declaring the patent invalid.
2. Where the patent right of a design is used against the exclusive right to use a trademark of another person, the announcement date of the preliminary examination and approval of the trademark is earlier than the application date of the patent for a design, and before the patent for a design is revoked or declared invalid, the administrative department for industry and commerce may promptly handle the trademark infringement case in accordance with the Trademark Law.