Harris Bricken Wins China Trademark Enchantment
Our worldwide trademark attorneys just lately received an enchantment of an earlier refusal of a China trademark registration software. This case demonstrates the advanced methods typically required to safe trademark safety for manufacturers in China. As execution of those methods can take time, manufacturers keen to take the lengthy view are prone to see higher outcomes.
When our shopper, a German firm, sought to register its trademark in China, we discovered that an unrelated Chinese language firm had beforehand filed a registration software in unhealthy religion. Sadly, this can be a frequent situation that stops reputable model homeowners from gaining trademark safety in China. Aside from praying for a refusal by the China Nationwide Mental Property Administration (CNIPA), the one sensible step a model proprietor can soak up these conditions is to oppose the appliance.
Given our shopper’s manufacturing actions in China previous to the submitting of the unhealthy religion software, they had been in a robust place to oppose that software. Accordingly, step one taken by our crew was to file an opposition in opposition to the bad-faith software. On the similar time, we filed an software for the shopper to register its trademark.
Purposes to register emblems are processed comparatively shortly by CNIPA, whereas oppositions take longer. This meant that when CNIPA examined our shopper’s software, it was blocked by the Chinese language firm’s unhealthy religion software — which, although opposed by our shopper — was first in line vis-à-vis our shopper’s software. Expectedly, CNIPA rejected our shopper’s software.
We instantly filed a brand new software to maintain our shopper’s place in line. In these conditions, it’s important to take swift motion, both interesting the refusal or submitting a brand new software. In any other case, a 3rd celebration might have doubtlessly filed its personal software, that means that our shopper would have had two trademark functions forward of them within the line. For extra on this threat, take a look at our submit, Consolidation of Trademark Actions.
When the time got here for CNIPA to look at our shopper’s second software, our opposition was nonetheless pending. After that second software was refused, we appealed that call. Whereas that enchantment was pending, the opposition was determined in our shopper’s favor. That in flip meant that when our enchantment was lastly thought-about, the Chinese language firm’s unhealthy religion software was not in the way in which of our shopper’s software.
As you’ll be able to see, our shopper’s path to trademark safety was not simple. But their endurance in the end paid off. After a profitable enchantment, the trademark has now been printed on behalf of our shopper and we anticipate its China trademark registration will probably be accomplished throughout the subsequent few months.
