Due to the different trademark systems between Hong Kong and mainland China, a successfully registered trademark in Hong Kong may not gain the same protection by law in mainland China. So the trademark shall be registered in China to gain its protection.
Important issues for trademark design you need to know:
1. Those are identical with or similar to the national name, national flag, national emblem, military flag or medals of the People’s Republic of China, as well as those are identical with the names of the specific sites or the names and designs of the symbol buildings at the places where the central government agencies are located.
2. Those identical with or similar to the national name, national flag, national emblem or military flag of any foreign country, except with the government consent of that country.
3. Those are identical with or similar to the name, flag, or emblem of any inter-governmental international organization, except with the consent of that organization and those are unlikely to mislead the public.
4. Those are identical with or similar to the official marks or inspection marks that indicates the control or guarantee, except with authorization.
5. Those are identical with or similar to the name or symbol of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent.
6. Those have the nature of discrimination against any nationality.
7. Those are constitute exaggerated advertising and are deceitful
8. Those are determental to socialism morality or custom, or having other harmful influences; and
9. The place names of the administrative districts at the level of county or above or the foreign place names known by the public shall not be used as Trademark, provided that the place names do not have other meanings or are not integral parts of a collective mark or certification mark. Trademark that has already been registered with place names shall remain valid.
The requirements for trademark registration in China
The applicants of trademark registration shall be legally established enterprises, institutions, social organizations, individual businessmen, individual partnerships, foreigners or foreign enterprises which have signed the agreement with China or jointly participating in international treaties or under the principle of reciprocity. Meeting the above criteria, applicants need to apply to the China Trademark Registration Bureau to gain the trademark right.
The required documents for China trademark registration:
The identity card and its copy of the applicant; the copy of enterprise business license and a valid copy of the business license; the completed application for trademark registration Stamped with the official seal and personal signature; 10 pages of color trademarks logos (specify color shall be attached with the coloring pattern for 10 pages, one black and white ink is also required). Application should claim by an arrow on the bottom for logos direction. Applying for the trademarks for cigarettes or cigars, the size of drawings may be identical to the actual size.
To apply for the trademark according to goods and services classification:
When apply for China trademark registration, you should choose goods and services classification according to the Classification Table. To use the same trademark in different categories of goods, you should provide the application in different class of products classification in order, which can not only help you avoid the unfair expanding of trademark scope, but also easy for conducive to review approval and gain the trademark protection rights.
In addition, the date for trademark application is also very important. According to the priority principle of China trademark registration, in the event the date of filing has become the legal basis to gain trademark rights, applications for trademark registration are bound to the receiving date of the application files of China Trademark Bureau. Foreigners or foreign companies should delegate an agency to apply for China trademarks registration.
