Trademark, commonly known as "Brand", refers to a trademark that is used by producers and operators on the goods or services they produce and operate to distinguish the source of goods or services. It consists of words and graphics. , letters, numbers, three-dimensional logos and color combinations, as well as combinations of the above elements, are signs with distinctive characteristics. American economist Larry Wright once said: "Owning a market is more important than owning a factory, and the only way to own a market is to have a dominant brand." So how to "own a dominant brand" in the market? This is the issue of formulating and implementing a trademark strategy. Trademark registration is the basis for formulating and implementing trademark strategies. Trademark naming and design are the first step in this strategic foundation.
1. Trademark naming
1. The importance of naming It is very important to choose a good name; today’s Wahaha, it is not an exaggeration to use the term “women and children know it” to describe it. . The origin of such a product name took a lot of trouble: initially, when Wahaha Group cooperated with relevant colleges and universities to develop the unpopular product of children's nutrition liquid, they used the news media to collect product names from the public and organized experts to discuss the name. Hundreds of applicants have undergone research and demonstration in marketing, psychology, communication, sociology, philology and other aspects. Affected by the traditional naming habits of nutritional solutions, people tend to think in circles about names such as Suah, Jingah, and Bao. No one has paid attention to the three characters "Wahaha" which originated from a Xinjiang folk song. Factory director Zong Qinghou took a fancy to these three words. He has three reasons: 1. The vowel a in the word "Wahaha" is the earliest and easiest sound for children to pronounce. It is easy to imitate. It has a loud pronunciation, harmonious phonology, and is easy to remember and accept. 2. Literally, "haha" is a way for people of all skin colors to express laughter and joy. 3. The children's song of the same name, with its unique joyful and bright tone and strong national color, has been sung all over the Tianshan Mountains and all over the country. It connects such a widely circulated national song with the product trademark, so that people can become familiar with it, remember it, Memorize it and thereby increase its visibility. In a word, choosing such a unique brand name can greatly shorten the distance between consumers and products. Director Zong’s opinions have been echoed by many experts. After the trademark was named, the factory carefully designed two lively and lovely doll images as trademark graphics to achieve an organic integration of the trademark name and trademark image.
2. Regarding the knowledge of choosing a trademark name, pay attention to the following aspects:
①The best thing is to choose a word trademark. Generally, a trademark can include text and graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional Logo and color combinations, as well as combinations of the above elements. However, it is best to use simple and clear text for the brand name. Because: When applying for a registered trademark, the search for existing registered and unregistered trademarks is mainly based on text, so it is difficult to judge whether the selected trademark pattern is the same or similar to an existing trademark pattern; Including a trademark pattern when registering a trademark will undoubtedly greatly increase the probability of rejection of the registered trademark application; at the same time, even if your application is approved, the possibility of others suing you for trademark infringement in the future will also greatly increase. For example, McDonald's has successfully fought in court several times to prevent other trademarks from using a similar golden bow pattern in its trademark. This means that the owners of these trademarks must abandon their currently registered trademarks, redesign and apply for new registered trademarks. One of the most important criteria for determining whether a trademark is similar is whether its text is similar to the text in other trademarks. If you successfully register a word trademark, you have actually deprived others of the right to use the same name to promote their products or services, regardless of how the pattern of their trademark is different from yours. This has actually achieved the purpose of registering a trademark; except for a few trademarks with huge advertising investment and extremely special designs, it is generally difficult for people to remember the pattern of a certain trademark and build a trademark pattern with products or services on this basis. The connection between them; what customers can remember is the text content of the trademark. Registering a word trademark can achieve twice the result with half the effort; when using a registered trademark in the future, you can use the registered trademark (marked with ?) and the unregistered pattern trademark at the same time. Intuitively, this is not much different from registering a trademark image and text together. Another advantage of this is that if you need to modify the trademark pattern in the future, you do not need to apply for a new trademark.
History has proven that the frequency of modifications to trademark images is much greater than the frequency of modifications to trademark text. Of course, if the trademark pattern you design is truly unique and has great market value, you should include it when applying for trademark registration. Another more feasible method is to register the pattern trademark and word trademark separately. In this way, even if the registration of the pattern trademark is rejected, or the pattern trademark is challenged by others for trademark infringement in the future, your registered word trademark will not be affected. Simple and clear text trademarks: single-character trademarks such as Diao Brand Soap, Tiger Brand Balm, etc.; hyphenated trademarks such as Big Brand Bubble Gum, etc., are catchy and easy to remember, leaving a deep impression on people.
② Consider internationalization and try to choose a good name in English or Arabic numerals so that it can be recognized, accepted, and pronounced by as many people as possible from all over the world, that is, from any region, skin color, race, or culture. Since English letters and Arabic numerals are symbols recognized by intellectuals of different nationalities, cultures, and skin colors around the world, corporate logos and standard characters using English letters as elements must be universally applicable and universally accepted. Except for English letters, marks composed of any other elements have strong regional and national characteristics, which increases the difficulty of dissemination and makes it difficult to become 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 name and brand name. Digital trademarks are also common, such as 555 cigarettes, 999 Weitai, 505 Shengong Yuanqi bag, etc.
③After applying for registration of an English trademark, you still need to register a trademark in Chinese. Due to cultural differences, there are huge differences in aesthetics and understanding. The business gap can only be reduced through localization. Therefore, the Chinese trademark you register is very likely to be different from your English trademark in various aspects. So it is still necessary for you to apply for a registered trademark in Chinese. Separate registration of local (native cultural language) and English is a good way to have great flexibility. Among well-known brands in various countries, it is very rare for Heyi to be registered.
④ The uniqueness of a trademark is very important. If you can take into account both "word creation" and "meaning", the effect will be better. It will have the double effect of strengthening the uniqueness and distinctiveness and giving the trademark a positive imagination. . A sign composed of trademark elements is generally a word. This word may not exist before you use it. For example, if you remove the letter n from the word Sonny and it becomes SONY, it is a typical new name with both sound and no intention. In trademark examination, this issue is called "distinctiveness", that is, uniqueness. As a symbol of a product and the face of a company, a trademark must be distinctive. While emphasizing trademark recognition, we must also emphasize uniqueness and distinctiveness. The trademark design should be unique in concept, break the rules and be different from others. This is what confuses many people. They all like to choose words that everyone knows, such as "Lenovo", "China", "Great Wall", etc. In fact, these are bad trademark ideas. The connotation and information contained in the word corporate trademark should all be related to this company. When the public's sight and hearing come into contact with this logo, all the information reflected in their minds is information about this enterprise, and there will never be any other miscellaneous information that interferes with the company's information dissemination. On the contrary, if this word is existing and originally meaningful, then when the public comes into contact with this word, the information reflected in this word will be confusing, which will affect the accurate and clear communication of corporate information to the outside world. Such differences in brand names are not easy to protect, and can even lead to ambiguity. For example, a word that is positive in the United States may be derogatory in Islamic countries, which is inconsistent with the world's common principles. For example, domestic "junk" carpets have encountered great obstacles in exporting because "junk" in English not only means sailboat, but also means garbage and rags. The same thing happened to the white elephant battery in Shanghai, because "a white elephant" is a "useless thing." It can be seen that the best international brand name that is feasible everywhere is an English word that has no meaning in itself. IBM and Rejoice are good examples. A simple and effective method is to search in a well-known search engine such as www.google.com. A small number of results is appropriate.
⑤ Simple pronunciation, beautiful pronunciation, catchy, easy to remember and oral dissemination. Since the late 1960s, Japanese products have been invincible in the international market, except as we all know In addition to the government's excellent macro-control and industrial policies, team spirit, and competitive intelligence work, Japanese companies' first-class business philosophy and international corporate visual identity are also important reasons. The brand logos and standard characters of most of Japan's world-class companies are designed according to the above principles, such as YAMAHA, HONDA, KENWOOD, PANASONIC, SONY, TOSHIBA, CITIZEN, SEIKO, NISSAN, TOYOTA, CANON, RICOH, CASIO, etc. Successful companies and brands such as South Korea, the United States, and Germany also basically follow this principle, such as IBM, AT&T, AST, MOTOROLA, SIEMENS, LAWPANEL, INTEL, SAMSUG, DAIWOOD, etc. Among Taiwan's own international famous brands, KENNEX (tennis racket) ), PROTON (color TV - challenging and defeating SONY in the United States), ACER (Acer Computer), etc. are all planned according to the above-mentioned internationalization principles. Green Power and New Dongyang, which are well-known in the local area but have not been internationalized, are basically limited to operating in Chinese-speaking areas and are unable to expand outward. It can be seen that internationally famous brands, whether they are from English-speaking countries or non-English-speaking countries, generally have to have an English "foreign name". To measure whether the national industry is revitalized, it mainly depends on whether it can resist the invasion of foreign brands in the domestic market; whether it can bring domestic brands to the doorsteps of foreigners; whether it has a higher market share than foreign brands on a global scale. In a word, it is better than foreign brands, and it has nothing to do with whether it takes a foreign name or not. But if you really want to become a multinational company and have products that sell well all over the world, you can't do it without a foreign name. Choosing a "foreign name" can not only pave the way for internationalization, but also greatly improve the taste of the brand. Just imagine, Changhong's "Changhong" logo and Konka's "Konka" logo are affixed to the same TV, which one is more tasteful?
⑥The font name (trade name) is consistent with the brand trademark. Currently, in developed countries, it has become a common practice in developed countries to use a special part of a trade name as a trademark for registration. Such as Japan's "Hitachi" and "Toyota", Germany's "Bayer" company, etc. The practice of integrating trademarks and trade names not only achieves the effect of simultaneous publicity of trademarks and trade names, but also obtains protection from dual legal systems. Current regulations in mainland China prohibit domestic companies from using languages ??other than their own, including English as trade names (TCL is a curious exception). You can be sure that this regulation will change sooner or later. Trademarks and trade names are corporate strategies, and companies should take a long-term approach.
⑦The domain name is consistent with the brand trademark. If you want to apply for registration of a US trademark in the future and be able to put a ? mark on the registered trademark, you must prove that the trademark you want to register is already "in use" in the United States. That is, you are using your trademark to market your products or services in the United States. How can we meet this demanding condition? A more convenient and effective method is to register and run a website with the address "your trademark text (English).COM". This way, you have sufficient evidence to prove that the trademark you want to register is already in use in the United States. Registering and running a website with the same trademark (in English) as yours may have unexpected benefits. First of all, if you find that your trademark (English) has been registered as a website address by others, you should redesign your trademark in time. This is because in this case, even if you successfully register your trademark, the owner of the website can still sue you for infringement of his trademark rights because he used the trademark before you. In addition, registering and running a website that is consistent with your registered trademark will virtually enhance the overall image of your registered trademark. In the era of electronic commerce, if a company (or a trademark) does not have its own website, it will easily reduce the taste of its brand.
⑧Avoid being similar to any famous trademark. The ownership of a trademark is determined by the prior rights of the trademark; that is to say, whoever uses a trademark first will own the trademark. Therefore, judging whether a trademark infringes the rights of another trademark depends on who uses the trademark first. However, it does not mean that any two identical trademarks are not allowed to exist at the same time.
At this time, another criterion for judging whether a trademark is infringed is whether the appearance of the new trademark will cause customers of the first trademark to mistakenly regard the second identical trademark as the first trademark. If the two trademarks are in completely different industries or different regions, have different customer groups, and have different sales channels, then two identical trademarks can exist at the same time. However, this criterion does not apply to well-known trademarks. For example, if you use McDonald's trademark or even a similar pattern to sell cars, which seems to have nothing to do with the fast food that McDonald's sells, the court will still find you infringed. In fact, even if the court ultimately decides in your favor, it will be difficult for you to have the energy and financial resources to fight with a large company in court until the day the judge makes a ruling. Therefore, an important principle when choosing a trademark is to avoid being similar to any famous trademark. Otherwise, it will bring you endless trouble.
⑨ my country’s Trademark Law stipulates that the following words and graphics may not be used in trademarks: (1) The same as the country name, national flag, national emblem, military flag, medal, "Red Cross", "Red Crescent" logo, name Identical or similar. (2) Similar to the flag, emblem or name of an intergovernmental international organization. (3) Is the same as or similar to the flag, logo, emblem or name of other famous international organizations. (4) Nationally discriminatory, exaggerated propaganda and deceptive, harmful to social morals. (5) The common name and graphics of this product directly represent the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, quality, quantity and other characteristics of the product.
⑩ It must be identifiable, such as well-known symbols such as the sun, moon, stars, scenery, places of interest, celebrities, animals and plants. For example, using animals can express dynamic images. When designing car trademarks, Japanese Century cars use "Phoenix" as their trademark; Japan's Gazelle car brand uses "Sheep" as its trademark; "Tiger" is used as its trademark. The car logos include the British Triumph, Jaguar, Volante and other famous brands; the "ox" logo is the Italian Lamborghini car; the "dragon" logo is the Italian car. Alfa Romeo (AifaRomeo) car; the American Cougar and the German Man brand cars that use "lion" as their trademarks; the American cars that use "horse" as their trademarks include the American Mustang and Mustang ), Charger, Bronco; German Porsche and Neoplan; Italian Gamma, Panda, Pantera, Ferrari, Spider and Japanese Lancen Celeste and Florican; cars using "Eagle" as their trademark include American Chrysler, Buick, Golder Eagle, Skyhawk ( Skyhawk, Blackhawk. There are also many manufacturers in China that use animals as car trademarks, such as double horses, flying squirrels, cheetahs, skylarks, etc. Scenic spots can be used to highlight products, and celebrities can be used to expand popularity. You can also make product trademarks based on the inventors and founders of featured products, or use the original time-honored brands as trademarks. Such as "Zhang Xiaoquan" scissors, "Wang Zhihe" fermented bean curd, Adidas, etc.
What are the distinctive features that a trademark should have? The so-called distinctive features of a trademark (also known as distinctiveness) refer to the recognizability and uniqueness of a trademark that makes it easy to distinguish goods and services containing other trademarks. Consumers can rely on the characteristics of the trademark to distinguish the origin, characteristics, and characteristics of the goods or services. Information etc. The more distinctive the characteristics of a trademark (that is, the distinctive features of originality), the greater its distinguishing effect and the more conducive it is to general consumers' recognition. The originality referred to here refers to very common words, graphics and their combinations determined by intelligence. Common flowers, birds, insects, fish, auspicious words or other things that are popular generally lack originality. Since the examination of the distinctive features of a trademark is a negative examination, and the words and graphics used in the trademark cover a very wide range, the law cannot answer the question of whether the trademark is distinctive, so it can only list some situations where it is not distinctive. and examples.
Generally speaking, the following types of trademarks are considered not to have distinctive characteristics:
(1) Use common product names, logos, and graphics as trademarks in the industry;
(2) Use trademarks Use words and graphics related to the product as a trademark;
(3) Use words or graphics that represent the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses and other characteristics of the product as a trademark;
(4) The trademark is a geographical name (note: there are exceptions for collective trademarks and certification marks);
(5) The text and graphics of the trademark are too complicated or use graphics with numerous titles;
(6) The whole or the main part of the trademark is composed of extremely simple geometric figures and two or less numbers or letters written in ordinary fonts (such as a straight line, a curve, a standard triangle, or a circle, etc.) etc.;
(7) The use of a unified special symbol promulgated by the country or industry as a trademark is also considered to be insignificant.
The distinctiveness of a trademark is not absolute. Although trademark design should pay attention to the issue of distinctiveness, whether a single trademark has distinctive features depends to a large extent on the circumstances of use. The new Trademark Law makes new provisions: individuals are allowed to register trademarks. This unprecedented major move in the history of trademark registration is like a stone that stirs up a thousand waves and immediately arouses an uproar from the society. The number of individuals applying for trademark registration is increasing day by day. , a lot of new ideas.