NEWS

Question 1. Can a company or farmer's professional cooperative be an applicant for a geographical indication trademark?

A: No.

Geographical indications belong to regional public resources. The registrant of a geographical indication trademark shall be a local non-profit-oriented organization, association or other organization, generally a social organization as a legal person or a public institution as a legal person, whose business scope is related to the geographical indication products under supervision.

An applicant for a geographical indication must be authorized by the people's government at or above the county level or the competent department of the industry in the area in which the geographical indication is indicated to apply for registration and to supervise and administer the geographical indication.

The specific user of a geographical indication trademark must be a producer or operator from the region indicated by the geographical indication.

Question 2: I want to apply for the geographical indication trademark of "Gaolaozhuang Watermelon". Gaolaozhuang is the name of a township in our county. Can the Gaolaozhuang Township government issue the authorization document?

A: No.

Geographical indications belong to regional public resources, and the applicant shall submit the people's government at or above the county level or the competent department of the industry in the area indicated by the geographical indication to approve the applicant's application for registration and supervision and administration of the geographical indication documents. In view of the fact that the establishment of local industry authorities is not uniform, in order to avoid the stability of the authorization of the competent authorities caused by institutional adjustment and personnel turnover, it is recommended that the authorization of the people's government at or above the county level in the area indicated by the geographical indication is appropriate.

Question 3: I want to apply for "Gaolaozhuang watermelon" geographical indication trademark, when filling in the trademark registration application, can I fill in "fresh fruit" in the commodity item column?

A: No.

Geographical indications have specific qualities and should generally refer to a single specific commodity. Therefore, the designated use of geographical indication trademarks can not be generally expressed as live animals, fresh fruits, Chinese medicinal materials, cereal products and other commodities collectively. If the trademark of the geographical indication stated is "Rizhao Green Tea", the specified commodity to be used shall be "green tea"; The stated geographical indication trademark is "Dongtai watermelon", and the specified commodity to be used shall be "watermelon (fresh fruit)".

Due to China's vast territory and abundant resources, many property titles have regional or ethnic characteristics, these properties as a geographical indication trademark application, the designated use of goods can be a specific single commodity name contained in the trademark, can also be a commonly used single commodity name. For example, the reported geographical indication trademark is "Huangmei cross-stitch", and the designated goods can be either "cross-stitch" or "silk woven art".

Question 4. We produce selenium rich loquat in Hongqi Township, can we apply for the geographical indication trademark of "Hongqi Selenium rich Loquat"?

A: No.

"Selenium" is a kind of trace element that is beneficial to human body. After research, the Bureau decided that the application for geographical indication trademarks containing "selenium" or "selenium rich" text expression shall be preliminarily approved if the following conditions are met:

(1) The production area of the designated commodity is in the selenium-containing or selenium-rich areas of natural soil determined by the State;

(2) The national standard or industry standard has clearly stipulated the selenium or Se-rich content of the designated commodity;

(3) The quality characteristics of the commodities designated for use in the use management rules have clear indicators of selenium or selenium-rich content in line with national standards or industry standards, and it is clearly stated that the commodities designated for use contain "selenium" or "selenium-rich" is absorbed from natural soil during the growth process.

For geographical indication marks containing "selenium" or "selenium rich" designated for use on goods that do not contain "selenium" or "selenium rich" national or industry standards, and geographical indication marks containing "selenium" or "selenium rich" designated for use on goods that contain "selenium" or "selenium rich" local standards or enterprise standards, because the selenium content cannot be uniform, in order to ensure the specific quality of the geographical indication goods, To maintain the reputation of geographical indication trademarks, better guide consumption and ensure food safety, on the grounds that "it is easy for consumers to misidentify the raw materials or quality characteristics of the goods", it is rejected according to law.

At present, only "rice" and "tea" have clear industry standards for selenium enrichment. Therefore, "Red flag selenium rich loquat" can not be approved as a geographical indication trademark.

Question 5. Can internal information be used as evidence of the objective existence and credibility of geographical indications?

A: No.

It is an important basis to confirm the right of geographical indication to submit the materials to prove the objective existence and reputation of geographical indication products. The certification materials include county annals, agricultural annals, product annals, yearbooks, textbooks, national professional journals, etc. published for more than three years, which can be the original, or a copy of the cover, copyright page, and content page with the official seal of the issuing unit.

According to the provisions of Article 15 of the Measures for the Administration of Internal Information Publications, internal information is strictly limited to the internal communication of the industry, the system and the unit, so it cannot be used as proof of the objective existence and reputation of geographical indications.

Question 6. "Lai-Go County" records that "Guixian County produces various subtropical fruits, with citrus, bayberry and plum as the bulk". Can it be used as the proof of the objective existence and credibility of the geographical indication of "Guixian Bayberry"?

A: No.

Geographical indication is objectively formed in history, and its form is generally "geographical name + commodity common name". "Kuai County produces various subtropical fruits, mainly citrus, red bayberry and plum" only indicates that Kuai County produces red bayberry, but it cannot prove the objective existence and credibility of the geographical indication of "Kuai red Bayberry". If the statement in the county annals is "coming and going arbutus is well-known in neighboring provinces and counties, and was identified as one of the counties of the provincial Arbutus production base in the 1950s", it can be used as the proof of the objective existence and credibility of the geographical indication of "coming and going Arbutus".

Question 7. Can the testing content be agreed as the testing of the quality of geographical indication products in the commissioned testing agreement?

A: No.

Geographical indication should have a specific quality, the detection of geographical indication goods should be the detection of its specific quality, rather than quality detection.

The applicant for geographical indication shall be an organization with the ability to supervise and test the declared geographical indication goods. If the applicant has the testing ability, it shall submit the applicant's testing qualification certificate, the list of testing personnel and the list of testing equipment; If it does not have the testing ability, it may entrust an organization with testing qualifications to test the specific quality of the reported geographical indication goods, and the two parties shall sign a commissioning testing agreement, in which it must be clear that the entrusted testing content is the specific quality of the geographical indication goods, and in addition, it shall submit the testing qualification certificate, the list of testing personnel and the list of testing equipment of the entrusted party. The above materials shall be stamped with the official seal of the issuer.

Question 8, our Dongfang potato is very famous, want to apply for "Oriental potato" geographical indication trademark, production area certificate should be issued by who?

A: The geographical scope of production of geographical indication goods can be determined by the historical materials that prove the objective existence and reputation of geographical indication, or by the people's government of the area indicated by the geographical indication or the competent industry authority issued by the production geographical scope of the document. Where the geographical scope of production of geographical indication commodities spans two townships, towns, counties or cities, it shall be issued by the people's government at the same higher level or the competent department of the trade of the township, town, county or city.

The origin of "Eastern potato" is in Dongfang Township, and the proof of its production area can be issued by the people's government of Dongfang Township or its superior government (industry competent department).

Question 9, we have applied for a geographical indication, on the official website of the Trademark Office to download the use of management rules model, the fifth required to specify the geographical indication and the production area of the specific physical geographical environment between the relationship, how should be expressed more standardized?

A: The second part of Article 5 of the Rules for the Use of management shall conduct a detailed analysis of all aspects of the natural factors of the place of origin that affect the specific quality of the geographical indication goods, and shall not only list the natural conditions of the place of origin such as temperature, light, precipitation, soil and river. It is necessary to reason clearly the process of the specific impact of a specific time and a specific environmental factor on a specific quality of the product.

Sometimes it is also possible to combine the influence of the human factors of the place of origin on the specific quality of the geographical indication goods, including the planting area (in front of the mountain, orientation), the choice of planting season, special production buildings (such as inflow mills), local production techniques, etc.

For example, about "Jinxiang Black garlic" : Jinxiang County belongs to the temperate monsoon continental climate, four distinct seasons, rain and heat at the same time, spring and summer seasons are long, autumn and winter seasons are short. Autumn sowing garlic is mostly sown in early October, and the average daily temperature is required to be stable and exceed 16℃ during the sowing period. The average temperature in early October in Jinxiang is 17.6℃, which is conducive to the formation of 5 leaves and 1 heart of garlic seedlings before winter, so as to safely overwinter. The next year from late March to early April is the garlic rise period, which is the most critical period for garlic growth, requiring a higher ground temperature, requiring a stable daily average temperature of more than 12 ° C. The average annual temperature in Jinxiang during this period is 12.3℃, which is very suitable. In the middle and late May is the maturity period of garlic, although the rainfall in Jinxiang during April to May is scarce, but Jinxiang County is located in the west of Nansi Lake, numerous rivers, abundant weak alkaline groundwater, to ensure the garlic rise and maturity of the water demand, and the moderate water content of the soil, not only conducive to the growth of garlic and ensure no rot, more conducive to the accumulation of protein, sodium and other dry matter. The local tidal soil and paddy soil, good permeability, fertilizer and water, beneficial microbial activity, is conducive to the good absorption of garlic fertilizer and water. Jinxiang Black garlic is made of complete, full, unpeeled and moldy Jinxiang garlic, soaked and dried in local weak alkaline water, and fermented for 40 days in a high temperature and high humidity tight container at 60-90 degrees Celsius.

Another example, about "Yongding Camellia" : the region is a subtropical oceanic monsoon climate, mild climate, warm winter and cool summer, abundant rainfall, and the landform is typical of low mountains and hills, dense forest vegetation, high humidity in the air. The peaks are connected, and the valleys are vertical and horizontal, making the area like a natural basin, which is conducive to the accumulation of water in the air from plants and surface water, forming fog beads, strengthening the red and yellow light in the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and seven visible light, thereby increasing the content of chlorophyll, tea polyphenols and amino acids in tea, which are indispensable substances for improving the color and taste of tea. The juice of tea tree root contains more organic acids such as citric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid and succinic acid. The SAP composed of these organic acids has a larger buffer against acidity and a smaller buffer against alkalescence, and the tea plant needs acidic soil physiologically. Most of the mountain soil in this area is acidic yellow loam, which is very suitable for tea tree growth. Yongding camellia comes from local wild tea, which has been artificially selected and bred for a long time. It has the characteristics of high tea polyphenol content, and the content of tea polyphenol in its fresh leaves is more than 31%. The production of Yongding camellia still follows the traditional manual method. When doing green, it adopts the unique technology of heavy wilting and light shaking, light wilting and heavy shaking, more shaking and less doing, first light and then heavy, first less and then more, first short and then long, looking at green and doing green. This traditional technique is superior to other techniques in passivating the oxidase activity in fresh tea, second only to green tea stir-frying, and can effectively inhibit the enzymatic oxidation of tea polyphenols in fresh leaves and retain most of the tea polyphenols in fresh leaves. Unique natural conditions, unique varieties and unique traditional tea making techniques have created the unique quality of Yongding camellia.

In addition, it should be noted that the origin of each geographical indication has a unique environment that contributes to the formation of the specific quality of the geographical indication, so the connection between the specific quality of geographical indication goods and the natural factors and human factors of the origin is different, and can not be copied.

Question 10, the official website of the Trademark Office provides the template of the collective/certification trademark use management rules, of which article 6 requires the specific quality of the geographical indication goods, how should this be expressed more standardized?

A: Specific qualities include the sensory characteristics of the geographical indication goods, quantitative indicators or their special production methods. Sensory features include visual features such as shape, size, color, texture, smell, taste perception, and so on. Quantitative indicators include biological characteristics such as family and species, physical characteristics such as weight, density and pH, and chemical characteristics such as moisture, protein, fat and trace element content. The production method includes the description of the processing technology and the quality standards of the final product, such as the feeding process and slaughter method of animal products, the planting process, harvest practice, storage method of plant products, the raw materials, ingredients and production process of traditional handicrafts, etc. To describe the specific quality of geographical indication goods, it is necessary to focus on the goods specified in the geographical indication trademark, such as "sheep (live animal)" and "lamb", "fresh chili" and "chili (condiment)" are different.

For example, on the "Jiang 'an black goat", the specified use in the "sheep (live animal)" commodity is described as follows: the whole body hair is black, the hair is uniform and short; Medium size, strong physique, each part of the structure symmetry, compact; The horns of the ram are thick, the horns are 16-19 cm long, bent backward and downward in the shape of a sickle, with whiskers; The female goat's horns are small and shaped like eight; The head is moderate in size, the front and hip are flat, the bridge of the nose is slightly enlarged, and the ears are upright. Neck length is moderate, back and waist straight, chest deep and wide, ribs open, the sacral part is wider, the caudal part is fuller; Male testes are symmetrical, moderate in size and well developed; The ewe has two nipples, no attached nipples, and is spherical. Slightly taller but generally well-proportioned, the average ram weighs about 31.45 kg and is about 67.25 cm tall (according to... The data published in the study is 5-7 cm higher than other male goats of the same species); The average ewes weigh about 29.47 kg and average body height is about 59.71 cm (according to... The data published in the study was 2-4 cm higher than other female goats of the same species).

"Jiang 'an Black goat" is specified to be used in "mutton" products when it is described as follows: the muscles are shiny, the red is uniform, the fat is white or light yellow, and the color of the flesh is good; The appearance is slightly dry or moist and does not stick to the hand, the new section is wet but does not stick to the hand; The cut surface is dense, and the depression can be quickly restored to its original state after acupressure. It has the inherent smell of fresh mutton, and the taint is relatively light, odorless and odorless. The broth is transparent and clear, the fat is gathered on the surface, and it has a fragrance. Protein content ≥22.6% (according to... The data published in the research report is about 0.3% higher than that of other similar goat meat, and the fat content is less than 3% (according to... The data published in the study is about 2.5% lower than other similar goat meat).

Question 11. Article 14 and 15 of the model Rules for the management of the use of collective/certification trademarks of geographical indications provided by the official website of the Trademark Office relate to the rights and obligations of the licensed users of geographical indications trademarks. How should the "other rights" and "other obligations" be expressed?

A: The official website of the Trademark Office provides a sample of the administrative rules for the collective/certification of the use of geographical indications, and the words "other rights" and "other obligations" are to remind the applicant of geographical indications trademark that it can set more rights and obligations for the licensed users of geographical indications according to its own management needs. If so, the specific content of the rights and obligations should be clearly defined; If not, the words "other rights" and "other obligations" should be deleted.

Question 12, I want to apply for "Phoenix cured meat" geographical indication certification trademark, but after inquiry, in the 29 "cured meat" has registered the "Phoenix" trademark, that "phoenix cured meat" can also be approved for registration?

A: Registration cannot be approved.

As a type of trademark, geographical indication trademark shall comply with the provisions of Article 30 of the Trademark Law. In the comparison of similarity between a geographical indication mark and a common trademark, if the application for a geographical indication mark is later and the application for a common trademark is before, it shall be combined with a collective geographical indication mark

More intellectual property information and services

Pay attention to [Shenkexin Intellectual Property] Official subscription number

More deeply credible dynamic news, important data/report/case, etc.

Pay attention to the [Shenkexin Intellectual Property Service Platform] official service number