Trademark is a brand to identify the uniqueness of products or services of a corporate. It can be in form of words or pictures to express its identity.
Trademark registration can protect the trademark holder’s right in the respective countries jurisdiction. It is a kind of region specific protection and different countries have their own requirements for trademark registration.
What is more important, trademark registration does not mean that the company has the property right about the extract name or a similar one of the respective trademark.
Any natural person, legal entity or organization produce, make, value-added, choose, to the commercial products or services has to apply for registration of a trademark at the Intellectual Property Department (if in Hong Kong) or at the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the PRC.
There are two ways to apply for the registration:-
-the applicant goes to the intellectual Property Department / Trademark Office directly
-the applicant consigns the whole registration procedure to agent
Special Requirement for registration in PRC:-
- For those foreigners or foreign enterprises, who do not have a permanent residential address or place of business in PRC, they have to consign agent to act on their behalf for the registration process
- The trademark for each product or services classification, one trademark for each group. For each trademark registration will be deemed to be an individual application and a whole set application documents for each time should be submitted
International Trademark Registration:-
If the trademark has to be registered in numerous countries, the applicant can apply by submitting a single application form, through the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, register in all contracting members thereon.
Currently, under the Madrid Agreement, the followings are members:-