"Malicious Trademarks" Rampant, Electricity Providers Hit The Worst Hit Areas

According to the survey, in 2016, more than 81% of the businesses had been subjected to "malicious trademark" complaints. The total number of goods that could be complained by these "malicious trademarks" was nearly 60 million, involving 9 million merchants.

In view of the increasingly rampant "malicious trademark" phenomenon, recently, three academic institutions such as the Internet law research center of China Youth University for Political Science jointly issued the "no significant trademark invalidation report".

A number of experts, scholars and legal professionals have called for the strengthening of the review of such trademarks. In the trademark review stage, a blacklist can be provided by reference to the industry and research institutions. The trademark registration of malicious registrants who have already formed a business model should be monitored. At the same time, a green channel for declaring invalid trademarks will be opened, and the "malicious trademarks" will be found invalid in time.

"Hole" and "hula hoop" were registered as trademarks.

In the field of trademark, there is a word called "malicious rush registration". It refers to the act of preemptive registration of others in the field or related fields by means of improper means, such as profit, etc., and has certain effects on trademarks, domain names or trade names.

If the "malicious rush" is compared to a targeted robbery, then "malicious trademark" is a more established private roadblock, flagrantly openly robbed.

The so-called "malicious trademark" is to be different.

The general words and descriptors are registered as trademarks, and abuse of the "notice deletion" principle is launched to start infringement complaints, in order to coerce businesses to pay private money and gradually form a black industry chain.

According to the Alibaba recently disclosed, such descriptive words as holes, hula hoops, pedals and ground mouse are being registered as "malicious trademarks" by more and more intellectual property rogues.

The purpose of registering these trademarks is not to use them for themselves, but to look for porcelain targets.

A malicious complaint has been launched to coerce merchants to pay "private", which has gradually become an industrial operation.

Statistics show that these "malicious trademarks" directly affect the normal livelihood of the 9 million businesses on the platform.

Miss Zhang is one of the victims.

In March 2016, there were three leisure items in its Taobao shop.

The use of "foot pedal" expression, and "malicious trademark" complaints.

It is understood that the three shoes accounted for about 60% of its store sales, nearly 1000 pairs of daily sales.

In order to avoid losses, Ms. Zhang solved the problem only after paying 8000 yuan of empowerment fee.

"They are totally blackmailing, and the whole industry has complained about these products.

She believes that the industry attribute words can not be used, Taobao platform from the beginning of the industry there are descriptions of the attributes of the word, consumers should often search these.

Although some people have been registered as trademarks, they should not accept complaints about these trademarks before they are used. These complaints have affected the healthy development of the market.

The owner of a Tmall Jiezhuang exclusive store suggested that merchants use the relevant words of "malicious trademarks" for the purpose of not infringing upon the rights and interests of the other party. However, the complaint of "malicious trademark" has caused blackmail. Businessmen should be alert and feedback information to the platform.

More than 80% of the electricity supplier has encountered a "malicious trademark" complaints

"Request platform to resist such complaints", "industry attribute words can not be used, there are too many persecuted businesses!" in March 28th, a questionnaire from a website showed that in 2016, more than 81% of businesses suffered complaints of "malicious trademarks", and 18% of them complained more than 5 times a year.

According to the statistics of Alibaba platform governance department, as of March 2017, Taobao Tmall platform has accumulated 83 malicious trademarks registered by various industries, such as general description and other attribute words. It has made malicious complaints against 110 thousand products of over 15 thousand merchants, and the merchant has lost millions of dollars.

And these "malicious trademarks" can actually complain about the total number of goods, nearly 60 million, involving 9 million businesses.

In view of the rampant "malicious brand", which has seriously affected the normal livelihood of millions of businesses, the platform side finally intervened.

In February this year, a case of media exposure has attracted wide attention.

In February 7th, the Alibaba issued a "ban order" to Hangzhou Internet Security Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hangzhou network guard"), which has also become the first target to be banned after Alibaba declared war on "intellectual property rogue".

In February 14th, the Alibaba submitted a petition to the Dongcheng District court of Beijing, claiming $1 million 100 thousand against the Hangzhou network defends on the grounds of unfair competition, and demanded its public apology. The court then formally filed the case.

Statistics show that the company, founded in October 2013, has complained to thousands of sellers on the whole platform for more than 3 years since its establishment. The Alibaba platform governance data show that, with a sports brand as an example, the overall complaint rate of the Hangzhou Internet Security Agency for its agents is as high as 24.72%, while the overall complaint rate of the agent of another formal agent company is only 2.39%.

In terms of the inaccuracy rate of complaints against counterfeit goods, the inaccuracy rate of Hangzhou network agents is as high as 17.81%, while that of another agency is 0%.

It is worth noting that Hangzhou network security has complained thousands of businesses. After these businesses have appealed, the company has taken the initiative to revoke the complaint and voluntarily revoked the complaint rate by more than 60%.

Announcement of trademark no effect, opening of green channel

Although the right and wrong is clear at a glance, for businessmen, these "malicious trademarks" are all dressed in legal cloak, if they want to.

When the level is returned, it is necessary to initiate the trademark invalid process through the trademark Committee, and it takes more than six months to complete the process, and many businesses simply can not afford to initiate the program, so they can only pay private money.

Regarding this, Zhang Taolve, deputy director of the intellectual property and Competition Law Center of Tongji University, thinks that once the system is designed, there will always be many problems of rent-seeking in the process of operation.

When such a problem arises in front of us, it is harmful and existing.

How to deal with the impact and how to deal with it is a problem before the system designer.

Liu Xiaochun, executive director of the Internet rule of law research center of China Youth University for Political Science, said: "reputable businesses are very concerned about whether their products will be complaining or going off the shelves, so long as they are deleted, the loss is very great, which is beyond the imagination of traditional shops.

Even if the goods are restored by appeals, there will be no record of losses, which will cause indirect losses. This is a new ecosystem that is observed on the electronic business platform and can not be avoided. "

Du Ying, a professor at the Law School of Central University of Finance and Economics, pointed out: "the exercise of trademark rights in itself should not create symbolic monopoly, which is also not consistent with the original intention of the trademark law. Therefore, the platform should increase communication with the administrative organs of trademark, establish a quick response mechanism for" malicious trademarks "discovery and invalidation, and eliminate and further prevent their influence on the normal market operation order.

The problems found in academic research have also attracted the attention of the state authorities.

SAIC, director of the six SAIC judges of the SAIC, said that the application for trademark registration is showing explosive growth, which requires careful study of the corresponding countermeasures from all walks of life.

For the quick disposal mechanism put forward by the expert group, sun Ou believes that in the past, there was a green passage in the past when the Commerce Commission handled the trademark rush registration, but the cross examination procedures stipulated in the relevant laws and regulations were not allowed to evade; for the problem of malicious trademarks, the business jury could expedited the trial within the scope permitted by law.

In fact, this kind of problem has aroused great concern of SAIC as the responsible department.

At the news conference of the two sessions this year, Zhang Mao, director general of the General Administration of industry and commerce, pointed out: "some registered trademarks have no products in themselves, but register a series of trademarks, which are a disturbance to the market order."

It is profit oriented, and we do not register for malicious registration.

Those registered have been declared invalid according to law.

We need to step up efforts to make trademark protection more effective and more reassuring. "

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