Cautions on Trademark Applications and Uses

Trademarks and the categories of the trademarks shall not be changed once applications have been filed. Trademark applicants must pay attention to the cautions on Trademark Applications and Uses once approval has been granted to the trademarks.

Cautions on Trademark Applications and Uses

一、Trademark Applications

Trademarks and the categories of the trademarks shall not be changed once applications have been filed. So you must pay attention to the following matters before you file applications.

  • Logo texts or graphics including the place names and the names of raw materials shall not violate the Trademark Act to improperly associate the products and services with certain uncertified qualities or characteristic adverbs.
  • Trademarks shall be used for purposes as originally specified in applications, or the certification authority may revoke the trademarks.
  • The web address and the title of a company shall not be used for trademark applications. Only specific words and terms may be extracted from the web address and the title of a company for trademark applications.
  • Before trademark applications, trademark applicants must first make queries to avoid conflicts and rejections.

二、Trademark Uses

Trademark applicants must pay attention to the following matters once approval has been granted to the trademarks.:

  • Extensions of Exclusive Years for Trademarks: When the Exclusive Years for Trademarks expire, extensions for trademarks shall be filed to obtain another 10 exclusive years. The exclusiveness of trademark rights shall lose effect upon expiration of the Exclusive Years for Trademarks.
  • Applicants shall obtain legal trademark rights after trademarks are registered: In addition to obtaining exclusive rights to use trademarks in self-owned products, applicants may also prohibit others from using the same or similar trademarks in the same or similar products. So, if trademark applicants fail to actively use the registered trademarks, they may fail to sustain business reputations and hamper market entry of potential competitors. The certification authority shall be entitled to revoke the trademarks if the trademark applicants stop using the trademarks for 3 years.
  • Authorization for others to use the trademarks must be registered: Part or all of the trademark rights may be authorized for business purposes, but trademark applicants shall not obtain any exclusive rights for unregistered trademarks.
  • Do not arbitrarily make modifications or add notes to the trademark drawings as originally filed for applications: Making modifications or adding notes to the trademark drawings may be referred to as improper use of trademarks as the trademark applicants may only use the original trademarks filed for applications and registrations. Making modifications or adding notes to the trademark drawings with additional texts and graphs may mislead others. In fact, the registered trademarks may be revoked if other trademark owners are influenced.