1. Why do graphic trademarks require copyright registration and ?
The trademark rights and copyrights of graphic trademarks may conflict. The reason for the conflict is usually that the ownership of the copyright of graphic trademarks is unclear.
Many companies outsource their registered trademark graphics to professional design companies. If the enterprise does not own the copyright of the trademark, the copyright will only belong to the designer or copyright registrant. Once someone claims copyright infringement, the trademark applicant will be in a passive position.
2. The difference between trademark rights and copyright protection scope
Trademark rights and copyrights are two completely different rights. The difference between the two can be understood as: the protection of trademark rights is "narrow and deep", while the protection of copyright is "wide and shallow".
The scope of protection of trademark rights will be limited by the categories of goods and services. Once the category of goods and services exceeds the designated category, the " Trademark Law " cannot do anything even if the trademark is the same as yours. Therefore, the trademark protects the characteristics of which are "narrow and deep".
Copyright registration protects the graphic itself (due to the lack of originality in word mark, it is generally difficult to apply for copyright registration). Once the copyright registration is completed, the graphics may not be used in any field without authorization and are not restricted by the specific category of the trademark.
However, if someone else creates a graphic that is particularly similar to your work and completes the copyright registration, it will be difficult for the copyright to protect the trademark. It can be seen that copyright protection is not as strong as trademarks, and its characteristics are "wide and shallow".
Advantages of copyright registration:
1. Trademark application is classified and registered, and the corresponding protection is also classified. Your trademark is not yet covered by all categories, so copyright plays a very good auxiliary protection role. 2. The trademark application cycle is long and the copyright application cycle is short. Before a trademark is approved, a copyright certificate can also play a certain defensive and protective role.
3. Copyright can prove the ownership of a trademark, thereby preventing the trademark from invalidating due to ownership issues in the future.
4. Once the copyright is registered, anyone else must obtain the permission of the rights holder, otherwise it will be an infringement. The copyright registration certificate can be used as proof of rights and is a prerequisite for copyright owners to initiate anti-piracy and rights protection actions.
5. According to the relevant provisions of my country's "Trademark Law" and " Patent Law ", trademarks and design patents that conflict with other people's prior rights can be revoked and invalid. Therefore, if an artistic work (such as a graphic) is registered as a trademark by others, or if the graphic trademark is registered by others in other categories, it is more likely to use the prior copyright to oppose or cancel it.
Based on the above, copyright registration is also an important part of intellectual property protection for . Moreover, copyright registration cost is not high, the scope of protection is wide, and it has priority. The infringer can object and cancel it. It is a small amount of money to achieve big things!
