Can a place name be registered as a trademark?

Can place names, street names, and mountain names be trademarked?

According to the second paragraph of Article 10 of China's Trademark Law, it is clearly stipulated that "the place name of the administrative division at or above the county level or the foreign place name known to the public shall not be used as a trademark, except that the place name has other meanings or is used as a part of a collective trademark or certification mark; Trademarks that have been registered for the use of geographical names continue to be valid. "This makes geographical names quite legally restricted as trademarks.

Geographical names cannot be used as trademarks because producers often have to indicate the origin of the goods on the goods, and when the place names are used as trademarks, it is often unclear whether they are trademarks or names of origin, so they are not distinctive. In addition, when local enterprises use foreign geographical names as trademarks, consumers may misidentify the origin of the goods, which will bring more inconvenience to consumers. Therefore, although the Trademark Law did not prohibit geographical names from being trademarks before the amendment, the Trademark Office began to require that geographical names should not be registered as trademarks as early as June 1983, and the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Trademark Law amended on January 30, 1988 made this clear.

Therefore, when the Trademark Law was amended, geographical names were included in the scope of prohibition of trademarks.

Geographical names are generally not eligible for trademarking, but there are exceptions. The place name of the administrative division at or above the county level or the foreign place name known to the public shall not be used as a trademark. However, the geographical name has other meanings or is an integral part of a collective mark or certification mark; Trademarks that have been registered for the use of geographical names continue to be valid.

Article 11 of the Trademark Law The following signs shall not be registered as trademarks: (1) Only the generic name, figure and model of the product; (2) It only directly indicates the quality, main raw materials, functions, uses, weight, quantity, and other characteristics of the commodity; (3) Other lack of distinctive features. Where the signs listed in the preceding paragraph have acquired distinctive features through use and are easy to identify, they may be registered as trademarks.

Whether the place name can be registered as a trademark depends on the specific situation

1. The place name of the administrative division at or above the county level or the foreign place name known to the public shall not be used as a trademark, except that the place name has other meanings or is a part of the collective trademark or certification mark, and the registered trademark using the place name shall continue to be valid; If the place name in the trademark is likely to mislead the public as to the origin of the goods, then the place name cannot be registered and used as a trademark. Even if a trademark containing a place name is registered, others still have the right to use the place name in the trademark properly;

2. The titles of administrative divisions below the county level and the names of other geographical areas, including place names such as towns, streets, alleys, mountains and rivers, etc., can be registered as trademarks with the approval of the State Trademark Administration. For the geographical names of administrative divisions below the county level, there is no clear provision in the law that they shall not be used as trademarks, but considering that geographical names belong to public resources, based on the basic consideration of balancing public interests and private rights, trademark registration applications containing geographical names are strictly examined during the trademark examination process.

The legal basis is slowArticle 8 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China.

Any sign that can distinguish the goods of a natural person, legal person or other organization from the goods of others, including words, graphics, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs, color combinations, sound masks, etc., as well as a combination of the above elements, can be registered as a trademark.

Geographical names are registered as trademarks on a case-by-case basis.

According to Article 10 of the Trademark Law, the names of places in administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign names known to the public shall not be used as trademarks. However, if the place name has other meanings, such as "West Lake" and "Phoenix", or as part of a collective trademark or certification mark, such as Shaoxing rice wine and Pixian Douban, it can be registered as a hail trademark. For the geographical names of administrative divisions below the county level, the law does not clearly stipulate that they shall not be used as trademarks, but considering that geographical names belong to public resources, based on the basic consideration of balancing public interests and private rights, trademark registration applications containing geographical names are strictly examined in the trademark examination process.

If the place name in the trademark is likely to mislead the public as to the origin of the goods, then the place name cannot be registered and used as a trademark. Even if a trademark containing a place name is registered, others still have the right to use the place name in the trademark properly;