Research On The Acquired Distinctiveness Of Trademark

The recognition of trademark distinctiveness plays a decisive role in China's trademark legal system.With the increase in the number of trademark cases that have not been markedly intrinsically significant and have been used,it is even more necessary to perfect the research on the recognition of a trademark for distinctiveness.China's newly revised"Trademark Law" in 2013 and the "Trademark Review and Trial Standards" document issued by the State Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board in 2016 conform to the development of society.However,the recognition of distinctiveness in relevant legal documents is still too general and principled,and it is difficult to solve the increasing problems in practice.Although scholars in China and other countries have carried out academic research on this subject,there are still many disputes in the theoretical circle,and the study of related issues is not thorough enough.Therefore,the issue of the acquisition of trademarks is not only a theoretical issue,but also a practical issue.At present,the domestic research on the issue of recognition of thedistinctiveness of a trademark is mainly reflected in several aspects such as the determination of object,identification standard,and identification method.The causes of these problems are the imperfections of the current "Trademark Law"and related laws and regulations,the deviations in the theoretical research focus,and the difficulty in clarifying consumer investigation evidence in practice.The trademark coexistence registration system in U.S.practice and the relevant provisions of the "Lanham Act" can be used as a reference for the determination of the object,criterion,and mode of identification of the distinctiveness of Chinese trademarks;the European countries are concerned with identifying objects and methods of identification.Legislation and practical experience also deserve our country's learning.To solve the problem of obtaining distinctiveness of a trademark,first of all,it is necessary to clearly identify the object of recognition,to recognize the reasonableness of China's application of the universal mark,and to recognize the registrability of a single color.Secondly,to improve the criteria for recognition,it is necessary to clarify the scope of use of the territory of operators,not to rigidly define the minimum time for use in practice,and to use public awareness as the basis,rather than blindly identifying the significance of a trademark based on its reputation.Finally,we should improve the way in which distinctive trademarks are obtained,strengthen the use of evidence for consumers' cognition investigations,and abandon consumer confusion.