NEWS

1. What should I do if I have not used a registered trademark for three consecutive years or declared invalid a registered trademark for trademark objection or revocation? What should I do if the online application or defense materials exceed the capacity limit?

Answer: According to Article 6 of the "Regulations on Electronic Application for Trademarks": Submitting electronic trademark application documents or materials must comply with the prescribed file format, data standards, operating specifications and transmission methods. Article 9 stipulates: After a party submits an electronic trademark application, the State Intellectual Property Office will no longer accept follow-up materials related to this application submitted in paper form.

At present, when applications for trademark opposition, applications for cancellation of non-use of registered trademarks for three consecutive years, applications for invalidation of registered trademarks (hereinafter referred to as objections, withdrawals, and invalidations) or defenses submitted through the trademark online service system, the requirements of the trademark online service system must be followed. It is required to submit relevant application or defense materials (including various follow-up materials). If the file size exceeds the capacity limit, it will not be submitted, and relevant materials can no longer be submitted through paper, CD, USB flash drive and other forms that do not comply with the electronic trademark application regulations. Applicants and trademark agencies for the above-mentioned businesses should fully evaluate the scale of electronic materials required to be submitted during the business process before handling online applications or defenses. If it is estimated that the materials may exceed the limit, it is recommended to apply through offline channels or reply.

2. How to submit supplementary evidence materials for online applications for objection, withdrawal, and invalidation?

Answer: First of all, when submitting an application for objection and invalidation, the applicant must select "Yes" in the column "Whether to retain the right to supplementary materials" or "Whether it is necessary to submit supplementary evidence materials". After the applicant selects "Yes", he or she has three months to submit supplementary materials. If not selected, supplementary materials cannot be submitted.

Secondly, after the application is successfully submitted, select the specific case in the application management and click "Supplementary Materials" in the "Operation" column to perform the corresponding operation.

3. How to supplement and submit evidence materials for online application for objection, withdrawal, and invalidation? What types of evidence materials can be uploaded for online application?

Answer: The format of evidence materials that applicants can currently upload is PDF files.

4. The preview of the uploaded file for online application for objection, withdrawal, or invalidation is garbled. Do I need to upload it again?

Answer: If the preview of the uploaded file is garbled or unclear, you need to re-upload the relevant files.

5. To whom should the "Notice of Defense for Trademark Objection", "Notice on Providing Evidence of Use of Registered Trademarks" and "Notice of Defense of Invalidation" be sent?

Answer: If the applicant submits a trademark opposition application through electronic application, a paper "Trademark Objection Defense Notice" will be sent to the person being opposed. At the same time, a copy of the defense notice will be sent electronically to the trademark registration application agency.

If the applicant submits an application for withdrawal or invalidation through electronic application, a paper "Notice on Providing Evidence of Use of the Registered Trademark" or "Notice of Defense for Invalidation" will be sent to the respondent. At the same time, a copy of the defense notice will be sent electronically to the trademark agency with the latest business.

6. How does the respondent obtain the electronic application materials submitted by the applicant?

Answer: The respondent (the party being opposed or the party being invalidated) can use the download code in the attachment to the paper defense notice to obtain the electronic application materials online through the "Defense Materials Download" on the homepage of the China Trademark Network.

Trademark online service system users can also download in the "Defense Management" of the trademark online service system.

7. Under what circumstances can I defend online? How to defend online?

Answer: Applications for trademark opposition, withdrawal, and invalidation are submitted electronically. The respondent can choose to respond electronically online or on paper.

If the respondent chooses to defend online, he can enter the defense management of the trademark online service system and enter the download code/binding code in the [Defense Binding] channel to proceed with the online defense.

It should be noted that if the download code/binding code is bound and the electronic defense is completed, paper defense is not allowed.

8. How does the deadline for electronic application defense start?

Answer: When an application for objection, withdrawal, or invalidation is submitted through online application, the defense period shall be calculated based on the postmark date of the envelope of the defense notice received by the respondent. The respondent to the objection or invalidation declaration shall make a defense within thirty days from the date of receipt of the defense notice; if the party needs to supplement relevant evidence materials, it shall declare it in the defense letter and submit it within three months from the date of submission of the defense letter. . The third respondent shall respond within two months from the date of receipt of the defense notice. According to Article 12 of the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law", the day on which various deadlines begin is not included in the time limit.

9. If the application for trademark opposition, withdrawal, or invalidation is made electronically, how does the Trademark Office send the relevant documents?

Answer: If the respondent chooses to reply electronically, all documents except the notice of defense will be sent electronically to the relevant parties or trademark agencies.

If the respondent chooses to reply in paper form, all documents issued by the applicant will be issued electronically (except those involving the exchange of evidence materials), while the respondent will issue documents in paper form. If the evidence exchange is involved, if the respondent chooses to reply in paper form, the applicant will receive a paper evidence exchange notice with a reply binding code and a copy of the defense materials.

10. How to change the trademark agency during trademark opposition, withdrawal or invalidation?

Answer: Depending on the type of business handled, either the applicant or the respondent can go through the "Agent Change" channel under the trademark online service system's trademark opposition, three-year trademark revocation application, and trademark review application column (note: non-trademark subsequent applications are pending). "Change Agent/Document Recipient") to change, add or cancel the agent.

11. What are the restrictions on “legal basis and factual basis” for online trademark opposition applications?

Answer: This part must be filled in according to the requirements of the template, and the total number of words must not exceed 2,000 words. The 2000 words include all displayable and non-displayable characters.

12. When applying for a trademark opposition online, if one piece of evidence supports multiple legal provisions, can the same evidence be cross-referenced under different legal provisions?

Answer: Yes. Just make a note in the "Legal Basis and Factual Basis" or the discussion part of the evidence and the evidence is in a certain legal article.

13. When applying for an objection online, in addition to the power of attorney and subject qualification certificate, do other electronic application materials need to be stamped?

Answer: The application for objection and the reason for objection are filled out online and no seal is required. If you think it is necessary to upload stamped materials for uploaded evidence, you can upload stamped materials. There are no hard requirements.

14. If the application for withdrawal is submitted through the online application system, does the revocation review also have to be submitted online?

Answer: At present, the online application function for revocation review has not yet been opened. The Trademark Office will continue to optimize and improve the trademark online service system and continuously expand the business scope of the online service system.

15. When applying for withdrawal from the third party online, what materials are considered as evidence of effective use?

Answer: The evidence materials used to prove that the disputed trademark has not been used for three consecutive years should meet the following requirements:

(1) The disputed trademark logo used can be displayed;

(2) It can be shown that the disputed trademark is used on the designated goods/services;

(3) It can be shown that the user of the disputed trademark includes both the trademark registrant himself and others authorized by the trademark registrant. If it is allowed to be used by others, it should be able to prove the existence of a licensed use relationship;

(4) The date of use of the disputed trademark can be shown, and it should be within three years from the date of cancellation application;

(5) It can prove that the disputed trademark is used within the jurisdiction of the Trademark Law.

The specific form of trademark use includes use in transaction documents related to goods or services, mainly including: sales contracts, service agreements and corresponding invoices, inspection reports, import and export declarations, etc.; trademark registration information, basic company information , award-winning information, etc. generally cannot be used as evidence of use. (For details on providing evidence of trademark use, please log in to the "Trademark Application Guide" column of the China Trademark Network. Website: http://sbj.cnipa.gov.cn)

16. If a registered trademark with multiple categories is applied for cancellation of multiple categories, can one application form be used?

Answer: No, currently, no matter whether the application for withdrawing from the third category is submitted online or on paper, one application can only be submitted for one category.

17. When is the filing time for an application for invalidation declared?

Answer: For a request for invalidation filed in accordance with Article 44 of the Trademark Law, the application time is not limited. A request for invalidation filed in accordance with Article 45 of the Trademark Law shall be filed within five years from the date of trademark registration. For cases registered in bad faith, the owner of a well-known trademark is not subject to the five-year time limit.

18. How long does it take to receive the payment notice after submitting the application for invalidation?

Answer: According to the work progress, the formal review is currently completed within 30 days on average from the date of application. After the formal review is completed, the system will issue a payment notice within a certain period of time.

19. How to choose legal terms when applying online for invalidation declaration? Do you need to check them all?

Answer: Just check the corresponding legal clauses claimed based on the circumstances of the case.

20. Does the online application for invalidation also require a corrected copy? How to submit if the original and copy are inconsistent?

Answer: According to Article 20 of the "Trademark Review Rules", parties participating in review activities shall submit a corresponding number of copies according to the number of opposing parties. The content of the copies shall be the same as the original content.

If a request for invalidation is submitted online, the original and duplicate copies should be consistent, and only one document can be uploaded. If the original and duplicate copies are inconsistent, they cannot be submitted through the online service system. It is recommended to submit them by mail or on-site.

21. When the application for invalidation of a registered trademark is being heard, will all the evidence be transferred to the applicant for cross-examination? Or, depending on the circumstances of the case, is there a situation where the decision can be made directly without cross-examination?

Answer: If the respondent files a reply within the time limit stipulated by law, our office will send copies of the defense materials submitted by the respondent to the applicant for cross-examination.

22. If the respondent has not received the paper defense notice, how can he respond?

Answer: If the respondent has applied for an invalidation request online and has not received the paper defense notice and download code attachment, he should first obtain the registered mail barcode of the defense notice through the consultation phone and search for the letter through the post office. If the confirmation letter cannot be found, you can apply for grading at the review window of the Trademark Office Service Hall. The application for grading should bring relevant procedures that meet the requirements.

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