I. Trademark Naming
1, the importance of a good name is very important; Today's Wahaha is not too much to describe with the words "known to all women and children". The origin of such a product name is quite tortuous: at first, when Wahaha Group cooperated with relevant universities to develop the unpopular product of children's nutrient solution, it collected the product name from the society through the news media and organized experts to study and demonstrate hundreds of application names in marketing, psychology, communication, sociology and linguistics. Influenced by the traditional naming habits of nutrient solution, people's thinking mostly revolves around the names of vegetarian, refined and expensive, and no one pays attention to the word "Wahaha" derived from a Xinjiang folk song. Director Zong took a fancy to these three words with a unique eye. He has three reasons: first, the vowel A in Wahaha is the earliest and easiest for children to pronounce, easy to imitate, with loud pronunciation, harmonious phonology, easy to remember and easy to accept. Literally, "haha" is the joy that people of all colors express laughter and joy. Third, the children's songs of the same name are popular in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain with their unique cheerful and lively timbre and strong national color. It is convenient for people to be familiar with it, remember it and remember it, thus improving its popularity. In short, taking such a unique brand name can greatly shorten the distance between consumers and goods. Director Zong's opinion has been endorsed by many experts. After naming the trademark, the factory carefully designed two lively and lovely doll images as trademark graphics to realize the organic integration of the trademark name and trademark image.
2, about the knowledge of choosing a trademark name, pay attention to the following aspects:
(1) It is best to choose a text logo. General trademarks can include text and graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional logos and colors, as well as combinations of the above elements. However, the brand name had better be simple and clear. Because: when applying for a registered trademark, the inquiries about existing registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks are mainly in words, and it is difficult to judge whether the selected trademark pattern is the same or similar to an existing trademark pattern; There is no doubt that adding trademark patterns to trademark registration greatly improves the probability of rejection of registered trademark applications; At the same time, even if your application is approved, the possibility of others suing you for trademark infringement will greatly increase in the future. For example, McDonald's has successfully prevented other trademarks from using gold bow patterns similar to its trademarks in court several times. This means that the owners of these trademarks must give up their current registered trademarks, redesign and apply for new registered trademarks. One of the most important criteria to judge whether a trademark is similar is to see whether its words are similar to those in other trademarks. If you successfully register a word mark, you have actually deprived others of the right to use the same name to promote their products or services, no matter how different their trademarks are from yours. This has actually achieved the purpose of registering a trademark; Except for a few trademarks with huge advertising investment and extremely special design, it is generally difficult for people to remember the pattern of a trademark and establish the connection between the trademark pattern and the product or service on this basis; What customers can remember is the text content of the trademark. Registering in word mark can get twice the result with half the effort; When using a registered trademark in the future, you can use the registered trademark (with? Sign) and unregistered signs are used at the same time. Intuitively, this is not much different from registering a trademark pattern with words. And another advantage of this is that if you need to modify the trademark pattern in the future, you don't need to apply for a new trademark. History has proved that the frequency of trademark pattern modification is much greater than that of trademark text modification. Of course, if the logo you designed is really different and has great market value, you should include it when you apply for trademark registration. Another feasible method is to register the design trademark separately from word mark. In this way, even if the registration of the design trademark is rejected, or the design trademark is challenged by others' trademark infringement in the future, it will not affect your registered word mark. Simple and clear word labels, such as carved soap and tiger tiger tiger balm; Lotus seed trademarks, such as bubble gum, are catchy and easy to remember, leaving a deep impression.
(2) To consider internationalization, try to use English or Arabic numerals as pleasant names, so that as many people as possible in the world, that is, people of any region, color, race and culture, can easily recognize, accept and pronounce them. Because English letters and Arabic numerals are symbols recognized by intellectuals of different nationalities, cultures and skin colors all over the world, corporate logos and standard characters with English letters as elements must be universally applicable and universal. With the exception of English letters, the logo composed of any other elements has strong regional and national characteristics, which increases the difficulty of communication and makes it difficult to be famous all over the world. Japan's Sony, Panasonic, Honda, Toyota, Nikon, Coca Cola, Kodak, Germany's Siemens and Sweden's Ericsson all use non-native English letters as company names and brand names. Digital trademarks are also very common, such as 555 cigarettes, 999 Vitai, 505 Shen Gong Yuan Qi bags and so on.
(3) After applying for registration of an English trademark, you need to register a Chinese trademark. Due to cultural differences, there are huge aesthetic and understanding differences, and the business gap can only be narrowed through localization. Therefore, your registered Chinese trademark is likely to be different from your English trademark in all aspects. So it is still necessary for you to apply for a registered trademark in Chinese. It is a very flexible and good way to register the local (cultural language) separately from English. Among well-known brands in various countries, it is very rare to be registered in one place.
The uniqueness of a trademark is very important. If we can give consideration to "creation" and "meaning", the effect will be better, and we will get the double wonderful effect of strengthening uniqueness and distinctiveness and giving the trademark a positive imagination. A logo composed of trademark elements is generally a word, which may not exist before you use it. For example, removing the letter n from the word Sonny and changing it into SONY is a typical new name with sound or intention. In trademark examination, this issue is called "distinctiveness", that is, uniqueness. As the symbol of products and the face of enterprises, trademarks are inevitably different. While emphasizing trademark recognition, we should also emphasize uniqueness and distinctiveness. Trademark design should be unique in conception, break through convention and be different from others. This is a place that puzzles many people. They all like to choose familiar words, such as "Lenovo", "China" and "Great Wall". In fact, these are all bad trademark ideas. The connotation and information contained in the word enterprise trademark should all be about this enterprise. When the public's audio-visual perception comes into contact with this sign, the information reflected in their minds is all about this enterprise, and there will never be other miscellaneous information that interferes with the information dissemination of the enterprise. On the contrary, if the word exists and is meaningful, then when the public comes into contact with the word, the information reflected by the word in their minds will be difficult to understand, thus affecting the accurate and clear external communication of enterprise information. This brand name difference is not easy to protect, and even leads to ambiguity. For example, sometimes a word is positive in the United States, but it may be derogatory in Islamic countries, which does not conform to the worldwide principles. For example, the domestic "sailing" carpet has been greatly hindered in export, because the English word "Junk" of sailing boat means garbage and rags besides sailing boat. The white elephant battery in Shanghai has the same experience, because "white elephant" is "useless thing". It can be seen that a universally applicable international brand name is best an English word that has no meaning in itself. Examples are IBM and Rejoice. A simple and effective method is to search in a famous search engine, such as www.google.com, and the number of results is small.
⑤ Simple spelling, beautiful melody, catchy, easy to remember and spread orally. Since the late 1960s, Japanese products have been invincible in the international market. Besides the government's excellent macro-control and industrial policies, team spirit and competitive intelligence, the first-class business philosophy of Japanese enterprises and international corporate visual identity are also important reasons. The brands logos and standard characters of most international first-class enterprises in Japan are designed according to the above principles, such as Yamaha, Honda, Jianwu, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Citizen, Seiko, Nissan, Toyota, Canon, Ricoh and Casio. South Korea, the United States, Germany and other successful enterprises and brands also basically follow this principle, such as IBM, AT & amp； T, AST, Motorola, Siemens, LAWPANEL, Intel, Samsung, Damu, etc. Among the internationally renowned brands built in Taiwan Province Province, KENNEX (tennis racket), PROTON (color TV-challenging and defeating Sony of the United States) and ACER (Acer computer) are all planned according to the above international principles. However, Green Power and New Dongyang, which are well-known in China but have not yet been internationalized, are basically limited to operating in Chinese-speaking areas, and their outward expansion is weak. It can be seen that international famous brands, whether from English-speaking countries or non-English-speaking countries, generally have to take an English "foreign name". Whether to revitalize the national industry depends mainly on whether the domestic market can resist the invasion of foreign brands; Whether it is possible to beat domestic brands to the doorstep of foreign countries; Whether it has a higher market share than foreign brands on a global scale. In short, it is better than foreign brands, and it has nothing to do with whether or not to adopt foreign names. If you really want to become a multinational enterprise, your products will sell well all over the world, but it is impossible to take a foreign name. Taking "foreign names" can not only pave the way for internationalization, but also greatly improve the brand taste. Imagine that Changhong's "Changhong" logo and Konka's "Konka" logo are posted on the same TV, which one is more tasteful?
⑥ Brand name (trade name) is consistent with brand trademark. At present, in developed countries, it has become a common practice to apply for registration of selected parts of trade names as trademarks. Such as Hitachi and Toyota in Japan and Bayer in Germany. The integration of trademarks and trade names not only receives the effect of simultaneous publicity of trademarks and trade names, but also can be protected by dual legal systems. At present, laws and regulations in Chinese mainland prohibit domestic enterprises from using languages other than their own, including English as font size (TCL is a strange exception). It is certain that this rule will be changed sooner or later. Trademarks and trade names belong to enterprise strategy, and enterprises should take a long-term view.
⑦ The domain name is consistent with the brand trademark. If you want to apply for the registration of American trademarks in the future and can put it on the registered trademarks? You must prove that the trademark you want to register is "in use" in the United States, that is, you are using your trademark to promote your products or services in the United States. How can we meet such harsh conditions? A more convenient and effective way is to register and operate a website with the address "Your Trademark Text (English)". COM”。 So you have enough evidence to prove that the trademark you want to register has been used in the United States. Registering and running a website with the same trademark (English) as you may have unexpected benefits. First of all, if you find that your trademark (English) has been registered as a website by others, you should redesign the trademark in time. This is because in this case, even if you successfully registered your trademark, the owner of the website can still sue you for infringing his trademark right because he used the trademark in front of you. In addition, registering and operating a website that is consistent with the registered trademark virtually enhances the overall image of your registered trademark. In the era of e-commerce, if an enterprise (or a trademark) does not have its own website, it is easy to lower the brand level.
8 avoid being similar to any famous trademark. The ownership of a trademark is determined by the prior rights of the trademark; In other words, whoever uses the trademark first will have the trademark. So judging whether a trademark infringes the rights of another trademark depends on who used the trademark first. However, not any two identical trademarks are not allowed to coexist. At this time, another criterion to judge whether a trademark is infringing is whether the appearance of a new trademark will make the customers of the first trademark mistake the second identical trademark for the first trademark. If two trademarks are in completely different industries or different regions, with different customer groups and different sales channels, then two identical trademarks can coexist. However, this standard does not apply to those famous trademarks. For example, if you use the McDonald's trademark or even a similar pattern to sell a car, it seems that it has nothing to do with the fast food sold by McDonald's, and the court will still judge you for infringement. In fact, even if the court finally decides in your favor, it is difficult for you to have the energy and financial resources to deal with a big company in court until the day when the judge decides. Therefore, an important principle in choosing a trademark is to avoid being similar to any famous trademark. Otherwise, it will bring you endless trouble.
Pet-name ruby China's Trademark Law stipulates that trademarks shall not use the following words and figures that are the same as or similar to national names, national flags, national emblems, military flags, medals, Red Cross and Red Crescent: (1). (2) Similar to the flags, emblems and names of intergovernmental international organizations. (3) identical with or similar to the flags, signs, emblems and names of other famous international organizations. (4) with ethnic discrimination, exaggerated propaganda and deception, harmful to social morality. (5) The common name and figure of the commodity directly indicate the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, quality and quantity of the commodity.
As well-known symbols, such as the sun, the moon, stars, landscapes, places of interest, celebrities, animals and plants. For example, using animals to design automobile trademarks, using animals that can express dynamic images, there are Japanese century cars with the trademark "Phoenix"; Japanese Gazelle car with the trademark "Yang"; Well-known brands in Britain, such as Triumph, Jaguar and Volante, use "Tiger" as a symbol. Marked by "cow", there are Italian Lamborghini cars; Marked by "dragon", there are Italian AifaRomeo cars; With the trademark "Lion", there are American cougars and German man cars. Cars marked "Horse" include American Mustang, Mustang, Charger and Bronco. Porsche and neoplan); In Germany; Italian Gamma, Panda, Pantera, Ferrari, Spider and Japanese LancenCeleste and Florican cars with "Eagle" trademarks include American Chrysler, Buick and GolderEa Eagle. Gle), Skyhawk, Black Hawk. There are also many domestic manufacturers who use animals as automobile trademarks, such as double horses, flying squirrels, cheetahs and larks. Using scenic spots can render products, and using celebrities can expand popularity. You can also use the inventors and founders of featured products as trademarks, or use the original time-honored brands as trademarks. Such as "Zhang Xiaoquan" scissors, "Wang Zhihe" fermented bean curd, Adidas and so on.
What are the distinctive features of trademarks? The distinctiveness of a trademark (also known as distinctiveness) means that a trademark has the identifiability and uniqueness that can easily distinguish goods and services containing other trademarks, and consumers can distinguish the sources, characteristics and information of goods or services by virtue of this trademark feature. The more remarkable the characteristics of a trademark (that is, the distinctive features of originality), the greater the difference, and the more favorable it is for ordinary consumers to identify it. Originality here refers to very common words, figures and their combinations determined by intelligence, while common flowers, birds, insects, fish, auspicious words or other popular things generally lack originality. Because the examination of trademark distinctiveness is negative, and the words and graphics used in trademarks cover a wide range, the law can't answer the question of trademark distinctiveness, so it can only list some inconspicuous cases and examples. Generally speaking, the following trademarks are considered to have no distinctive features:
(1) Take the commodity names, signs and graphics commonly used in this industry as trademarks;
(two) the use of words and graphics related to the goods as trademarks;
(3) using words or graphics indicating the quality, main raw materials, functions and uses of goods as trademarks;
(4) using place names as trademarks (note: there are exceptions to collective trademarks and certification trademarks);
(5) The characters and graphics of the trademark are too complicated or graphics with various titles are used;
(6) All or the main part of a trademark consists of two or less numbers or letters (such as straight lines, curves, regular triangles or circles) written in extremely simple geometric figures and ordinary fonts;
(7) It is also considered insignificant to use the unified special symbols promulgated by the state or industry as trademarks.
The distinctiveness of a trademark is not absolute. Although we should pay attention to distinctiveness in trademark design, whether a single trademark has distinctive features depends largely on the use situation. The new trademark law stipulates that individuals are allowed to register trademarks, which is an unprecedented major measure in the history of trademark registration. A stone stirred up a thousand waves and immediately aroused the public's voice. The number of trademarks applied by individuals is increasing day by day, and the creativity is constant.