Recently, "Xiaoyao Town" and "Shaoguan Meat Clip" trademark use an event to pay attention.On November 26, the State Intellectual Property Office was officially responded, whether it is "Xiaoyao Town" or "Shaoguan Meat Clip", and its registrant has no right to charge the franchise fee.
The author believes that this response is timely and accurate, the trademark helps farmers are a matter of the relevant departments, especially the geographical symbols, and have been vigorously developed with its strong three farm characteristics, but the registered trademark is for Let the critical farmers or merchants in the region make better development, and the strike against the violations will stop the other party, not to take this charge. The basic situation of the two events is very similar, which is a small merchant using the same trademark outside the relevant association’s prosecution area, requiring the other party to compensate or pay the use fee.
Two associations, one is the Nakai Town Association of Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County, Henan Province, one is the Shaanxi Shaoguan Meats Association. In this regard, the State Intellectual Property Office made a formal response: from legal, "Xiaoyao Town" as an ordinary trademark, its registrant does not allow so-called "contributions" here. "Shaoguan meat clamp" is a geographic logo registered as a collective trademark, and its registrant has no right to use the geographical symbolic trademark and collect the franchise fee from the merchant license outside the specific area of ??Tongguan. At the same time, there is no right to prohibit the name of the merchant within the specific area of ??the Tongguan to just use the name of the geographical logo.
At present, the State Intellectual Property Office has been responsible for the departure of the local relevant departments, strengthening the administrative guidance of all parties to protect and use trademarks, actively doing well-related work, and handles relevant trademark disputes according to law, and must protect intellectual property rights according to law. It is necessary to prevent the abuse of intellectual property, handling the interests between the trademark rights holders, the market entities and the public. Trademark help farmers are an important task of intellectual property departments, and it is more divided into nature. Because most of the geographical marks are agricultural products, such as fruit, tea, flowers, grain, Chinese herbal medicines, livestock, etc., the rest are food (such as smoked chicken), snacks (such as mutton soup, meat clamps), and crafts. The vast majority of producers producing products are local farmers, even for other types of products, their practitioners are also mostly local farmers.
Some experts summarize the role of geographical symbols, promote and improve the visibility and influence of related products, and promote relevant practitioners, promote regional (generally county scope) economic development, and promote regional cultural inheritance.
After the registration geographic, because of this "gold medal sign", the corresponding product improved the popularity and impact value in the market, and the vast majority of sales unit prices have improved, that is, the "premium effect", farmers are equivalent. The economic benefits obtained under production have also improved, which is to promote the competitiveness and promotion of the corresponding products; under the promotion of good economic benefits, there is a moderately expanded production, and the corresponding industry has gradually developed. An economic leading industry in the local area, in order to promote economic development in the region; at the same time, geographical indicators have a secret connection with local culture, and some have an ancient story or mythical legend, some geographical indications, but also an intangible cultural heritage, industry The development of Changsheng will be more conducive to this inheritance of this traditional culture, which is "expanding the cultural heritage of agriculture".
Examples are not enumerated, such as Panjin rice, Datong Huanghua, Yantai Apple, Jinhua ham, Shanxi old vinegar, Pingyin rose, etc. "Shaoguan meat clip" belongs to the geographical symbol collective trademark.
As of June 2021, there were 2478 geographical logo protection products, and cumulative approval of geographic marks as collective trademarks, proved 6339 pieces of trademark registration, approved 12,789 special logo market mains. 2020 use geographical logo special logo enterprise direct output value of 639.8 billion yuan. Registrants of geographic logo generally have local relevant associations, in accordance with relevant regulations, the association is just a registered person, not a rights holder, because the trademark right is a member of all associations. Only farmers or merchants within the original region can use the corresponding trademarks; farmers or merchants in the field can not be met, and they cannot join in different places, and they cannot use the corresponding trademarks.
At the same time, members of the association can only use trademarks, and they cannot license others. Then, what should I do when I find that people who do not meet the conditions are using this trademark? The means should be stopped, and the stops include both administrative and judicial levels, but they cannot be used to franchise or fees. Because the main role of industry associations should be, do a good job in standard development, quality control, industry management, and maintain product reputation, enhance local cultural competitiveness, rather than collective trademarks with public welfare nature, and sit on a fortune.
If so, not only cannot promote the development of the industry, but will be due to improper consciousness, break through the legal frame to press or use the first small merchants, and lose the people’s heart, lose public opinion support, and then affect the social reputation of the corresponding product. It is very comparability in this regard that Shaxian snacks. The registration unit of Shaxian snacks is the Shaxian Snack Association. After the registration of the trademark, the association and the local government have done a lot of work in promoting the development of Saji County, including the snack festival, to the large and medium-sized cities, organize employee training, assist in communication Bank provides financial support, etc. 10,000 employment. Said from science, the geographical symbol is a typical "one side of water and soil,", the climate soil conditions, folk processing technology, and traditional cultural inheritance in a particular area, so that some of the products in a particular area have strong uniqueness and Advantage.
Registering the product as a geographical sign, in order to better make the product develop, benefiting the local. The relevant management departments, government departments, and civil society need to do, to promote the development of geographical symbols and reasonably legal combating infringement. In this way, it is the meaning of the geographical symbol! .
