China News Service, Beijing, September 29 (Reporter Wang Enbo) What kind of service does APP belong to in the sense of trademark law?
How does the past cross-category protection of trademark well-known certification adapt to the development of new online business formats?
With the rapid development of new types of consumption characterized by new business models and models such as online shopping, mobile payment, and online and offline integration in recent years, trademark protection under the new online business model has caused some controversies, and this topic has also attracted attention in the industry.
From "Wangwang" and "Taobaowangwang", "Pike" and "Sina Pike", to "Good Doctor" and "Ping An Good Doctor", "Toutiao" and "UC Headline"... recent years are similar to trademarks. Intellectual property cases in the Internet industry are not uncommon.
"From these cases, there are surprising similarities.'Taobao, Sina, and Ping An' are all well-known domestic brands. The prefix or suffix plus a valid registered trademark, why everyone agrees that it does not constitute confusion or not It constitutes an infringement? There is a reason.” Wu Handong, the honorary president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, said at the "Trademark Protection Forum under the New Network Format" hosted by the International Intellectual Property Research Center of Peking University.
He believes that such trademarks as "Good Doctor", "Toutiao" and "Paike" are all descriptive and have limited exclusivity.
"Such terms are not so distinctive as trademark registrations. They are more public resource signs, superimposed on more distinctive famous brands, and people will not be confused."
One example is that in December 2012, Want Want Foods was dissatisfied with Alibaba's registration of the "Taobao Want Want" trademark, and filed an appeal opinion to cancel the trademark to the Trade Review Board, which was not supported.
The TRAB believes that “Wangwang” is still in the category of everyday language, and its significance is lower than that of “Taobao”.
The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court opened court to hear the "Wangwang" dispute and judged in court that the two "Wangwang" are very different, and Taobao.com operated by Alibaba Company can continue to use the "Taobaowangwang" trademark.
“The core of the similar identification of trademarks is the distinction. For example, three characters and five characters, the image displayed to the public is completely different.” Liu Chuntian, president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, believes that similar identification of trademarks should focus on each other Difference, while emphasizing the trademark system and legislative system, the most fundamental principle is to protect transactions and protect property.
"The business order and social wealth that the law should protect must be treated with caution. It cannot be treated simply and roughly."
In addition, the cross-category protection of well-known trademarks is also a much discussed issue in the industry.
"You are famous for selling shoes, does it mean that you are also famous for selling bread?" According to Li Yang, director of the Intellectual Property Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University and vice president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, a strict cross-category protection is required. However, there are some issues worthy of reflection on the cross-category protection of well-known trademarks.
Prior to this, the trademark case of "Ping An Good Doctor" and "Good Doctor" in Sichuan caused heated public debate.
Based on this case analysis, Li Yang stated that the latter focuses on "medicine" and is an enterprise with pharmaceutical manufacturing as its core; while the former focuses on online diagnosis and treatment services, and is a medical and health service platform with Internet medical APP as its core.
He raised the question: If it is famous in a certain province or region, can it be recognized as a well-known trademark nationwide?
This is debatable.
Li Shunde, vice president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, proposed that in practical applications, the boundary issue between cross-class protection of well-known trademarks and anti-monopoly should be paid attention to to avoid monopoly of public resources.
"Well-known trademarks should never be unlimited cross-category and cross-border protection."
Feng Xiaoqing, director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of China University of Political Science and Law and vice president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, also believes that a common, daily, and descriptive vocabulary is a public resource. If the public resource is registered, It cannot be too broad in use.
"The cross-category protection of well-known trademarks must have strict boundaries, otherwise it will cause monopoly."
Yi Jiming, a professor at Peking University Law School and director of Peking University’s International Intellectual Property Research Center, said that in the context of the rapid development of new network formats, some cases that have emerged in recent years have attracted the attention of the industry.
For similar judgments of trademarks and for cross-category protection of well-known trademarks, it is necessary to respect market laws, recognize the social status quo of consumer perception, and maintain the existing economic and social order.
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