专业文章丨国外企业如何有效的在中国进行商标维权

【珠海律师、珠海法律咨询、珠海律师事务所、京师律所、京师珠海律所】

（本文转载自北京市京师律师事务所）

本文作者：万佳星

当国外客户咨询如何在中国进行有效的商标权利保护时，特别是当其国外商标在中国大陆被抢注或产品被仿冒，如何提供快速、高效的解决方案，维护客户在中国的合法权利？本文结合一个简单案例，探讨国外企业在中国的商标权保护路径。

01

案件示例

A公司是登记在欧洲某国知名公司，旗下的新品牌想要进入中国市场，在注册商标的初期检索时，发现新品牌名称在中国已被他人注册为商标。此外，A公司发现与其产品外观设计高度近似的商品在中国某电商平台以低价售卖。案件涉及商标和产品的包装设计两个方面，诉求涵盖商标权利确权、著作权或外观设计专利侵权和电商平台的维权工作。

02

案件过程

1. 调查A公司名下的商标权、著作权、外观设计专利权在中国的权利状态和登记信息，尤其需要关注权利的申请和登记注册时间。

2. 调查抢注人名下争议商标的情况及抢注人的基本信息，初步评估“恶意抢注”、“不以使用为目的的注册”的证据链是否完整。

3. 分析并确认A公司在中国是否有其他在先权利，如商号权，检索相关产品在中国的销售、宣传情况，考虑主张在先商号权的可能性。

4. 启动商标无效的行政程序，将争议商标申请无效，经调查本案基于在先著作权及恶意抢注条款进行主张。

5. 在争议商标被无效审查时，同步提交A公司作为申请人的商标注册申请。

6. 针对电商平台售卖的行为，协助A公司登记并取得产品外包装图案设计的著作权证书，结合A公司的产品实物照片、官网销售链接等证据提交电商平台的知识产权投诉。平台判定侵权成立，相关产品被下架。

7. 商标权的行政确权程序完毕后，在电商平台增加商标权权属证明，进一步对其他店铺的商标权侵权行为进行投诉。平台判定侵权成立，相关产品被下架，对客户的不利影响降到最低。

03

分析与建议

（一）商标权确权

该案例有一定的代表性：有申请人关注欧盟或者其他国家的商标局网站收集新商标注册的公示，如果该商标没有在中国注册，就抢先将该外国品牌在中国申请注册，以便在未来外国品牌进入中国市场时，将该品牌的中国商标出售给外国公司意图获利；或者在外国公司不愿意买回“自己的商标”的情况下，不正当的利用该品牌的声誉获利。

正因为商标专用权有严格的地域限制，通常都需要在该国成功注册商标才能进行商标维权行动，即在任何国外国家已取得了注册商标专用权，不等于在中国受到直接的法律保护，也不能阻碍其他申请人在中国申请注册相同或近似的标志；所以，尽早在中国申请商标注册是最推荐的保护捷径。在中国的商标注册程序中，不需要提交商标使用证据，注册具有便利性。

在遇到商标已经被抢注的情况下：充分利用商标法赋予的行政程序解决商标权纠纷，如商标异议、商标无效、连续三年停止使用申请等。在商标权暂时不稳定时，侵权的主张可灵活采取著作权、专利权、不正当竞争等权利基础和法律依据。尽量全面的维护客户的知识产权。

（二）完善商标权的全球布局和管理

随着“一带一路”政策的推进，更多企业开始走向全球化，商标应先于产品进行布局。建议在进入中国市场之前，将所属本国已申请的商标在中国同步申请注册；建议将未来可能使用的产品或服务项目都预先扩充保护、考虑将商标分级管理，并进行联合商标注册申请及防御商标注册申请。

在实际经营过程中，外国企业应充分留存商标使用证据，结合自身的实际经营情况定期留存中国商标法认可的商标使用证据，如将商标用于商品、商品包装或者容器以及商品交易文书上，销售合同、发票、宣传册，或者将商标用于广告宣传、展览以及其他商业活动中，规范商标使用行为，包括但不限于许可使用合同、获奖证书、受保护记录等，以便在后续可能的商标撤销、商标异议、无效宣告程序或者商标侵权及不正当竞争诉讼中证明商标的使用和广泛的知名度。

（三）建立商标预警体系

对商标状态的监控：商标并非一次注册终身有效，中国注册商标需要每10年进行续展，未及时续展商标将无效。各国的商标有效期略有差异，建议完善监控程序，避免权利丧失。

对抢注商标的监控：建议持续关注与企业核心商标高度近似的标志被申请的情况，及时采取异议申请等措施予以制止，防止高度混淆的商标被获准注册。

对侵权行为的监控：为了市场的有序健康发展，建议对核心商标的网络披露情况进行监控，以便对知识产权侵权、不当使用商标、制假售假等行为及时采取法律措施。

综上，建议采取积极主动的方式在中国进行商标保护，包括尽早获得商标注册，制定全面的全球商标战略，以及实施细致的商标监控预警制度，以便更好的应对市场的复杂变化，更完善的保护知识产权。

文章英文版

Legal Practice: Strategies for Foreign Companies to Effectively Protect Trademarks in China

When foreign clients inquire about the effective ways of protecting their trademark rights in China, particularly where their foreign trademarks have been preemptively registered or their products were counterfeited in China Mainland, how to furnish a prompt and efficient legal advice to protect their rights and interests? This article discusses the path of trademark protection for foreign clients in China via a concise case analysis.

Illustrative Case:

Company A is a well-knownEuropean company, andtheir new branded products wanted to enter the Chinese market by using their new trademark. However, during their initial trademark search, they realized that the same trademark had already been registered in China by another company. In addition, Company A found counterfeit versions of their products with confusingly similar designs being sold at low price on a popular Chinese e-commerce platform. The matter involved both trademark and packaging design infringement, with demandsof confirming trademark ownership and pursuing remedies against the e-commerce platform.

Case Process:

1. Investigated the status and registration information of Company A's trademark rights, copyrights, and design patent rights in China, with particular attention to the application dates and registration dates.

2. Investigated the disputed trademark registered by the potential infringer and its basic information, and preliminarily evaluatedwhether the evidence for "malicious registration" and "registration without intent to use” is complete.

3. Analyzed and confirmed whether Company A had any prior rights in China, such as trade name rights, searched for the sales and promotion of related products in China, and consider the possibility of claiming prior trade name rights.

4. After evaluation, we initiated administrative proceedings to invalidate the disputed trademark based on prior copyrights and malicious registration clauses.

5. Simultaneously, we filed trademark applications for the client while the disputed trademark was under invalidation examination.

6. For the illegal sales on the platform, we filed a complaint with the e-commerce platform based on the prior copyright of the product's packaging design. The platform determined it constituted infringement, the related products were removed.

7. After the administrative confirmation of trademark rights is completed,a certificate of trademark ownership was added to the e-commerce platform, we filedfurther complaints against other illegal stores based on trademark rights. The related products were removed, and that minimized the negative impact forthe client.

Analysis and recommendations:

1. Confirmation of trademark rights

The above casereveals a typicalsituation. Some individuals monitor the websites of trademark offices in the European Union or other countries to gather information about newly registered trademarks. If a trademark is not registered in China, they may apply for registration in China with the intention of selling the Chinese trademark to foreign companies when they enter the Chinese market in the future. Alternatively, they may exploit the reputation of the trademark to profit when the foreign company is unwilling to buy back "their own trademarks".

Due to the strict territorial limitations of trademark exclusive rights, it is usually necessary to successfully register the trademark in the country in order to carry out trademark rights protection actions. Obtaining registered trademark rights in a foreign country does not provide direct legal protection in China, nor does it prevent other applicants from applying for registration of identical or similar trademarks in China. Therefore, it is highly recommended to apply for trademark registration in China as early as possible. In addition, the trademark registration process in China does not require proof of use, which makes it convenient.

In cases where a trademark has already been registered by others, it’s suggested to utilize administrative procedures to regain trademark rights, such as trademark opposition, trademark invalidation, or application for cancellation due to non-use for three consecutive years. When trademark rights are temporarily unstable, infringement claims can be flexibly based on copyright, patent rights, unfair competition, and other legal bases. It is essential to comprehensively protect the client's intellectual property rights.

2. Establishing a Comprehensive Global Trademark ManagementSystem

With the advancement of the "Belt and Road" policy, more and more companies are going globally, and trademarks should be established prior to products. It is recommended to simultaneously apply for registration of trademarks in China and its home country. In addition, expanding protection to future potential products or services, managing trademarks in a hierarchical manner, and filing joint trademark registrations and defensive trademark registrations.

During the protection of registered trademark, foreign companies should maintain sufficient evidence of trademark use. By combining their actual business operations, and regularly retain evidence of trademark use recognized by the China Trademark Law, such as using the trademark on goods, product packaging or containers, as well as in business documents, sales contracts, invoices, brochures, award certificates, advertising, exhibitions, and other business activities. Standardize trademark use and properly retain evidence, including but not limited tolicense agreements and records of protection. This will help to prove the trademark use and reputation in the potential trademark cancellation, opposition, invalidation, infringement, and unfair competition litigation in future.

3. Establishing a Trademark Pre-Warning System

1) Monitoring trademark status:

Trademarks are subject to renewal deadlines, and lapses in monitoring could lead to unintentional loss of rights. For instance, Chinese trademarks must be renewed every 10 years, while renewal intervals vary in different counties. It is imperative to establish a rigorous system to track these deadlines and ensure timely renewals worldwide.

2) Monitoring trademark squatting:

Continuous surveillance is also vital to combat the practice of trademark squatting. We suggest diligently monitor the application of marks that confusingly similar to the company’smain trademarks and promptly take actions to avoid further confusion among consumers.

3) Monitoring infringement:

Lastly, vigilant oversight of online and offline marketplaces is essential to promptly address instances of infringement. By maintaining a watchful eye and taking decisive legal action, companies can effectively deter and combat infringements, preserving the integrity of their brands and the value of their intellectual property.

In summary, we suggest companies adopt a pragmatic and proactive approach to trademark protection in China. This involves securing early registration, establishing a comprehensive global trademark strategy, and implementing a meticulous trademark watch system. So that, companies may navigate the complexities of the Chinese market and ensure the better protection of the intellectual property rights.

作者介绍

万佳星

京师律所(全国)知识产权专业委员会委员

北京市律师协会涉外律师人才库成员

京师律所国际合作委员会委员

深耕于涉外知识产权及涉外投资领域并具有丰富经验，包括国际知识产权设立、争议解决及维权、涉外投资及国际商业运营法律事务。