These trademarks are not just for fun!

When your trademark becomes somewhat famous, some people will start to "catch up with you" and "hitchhike" by using a trademark similar to yours on similar products in an attempt to create the illusion that "I am you" . In order to effectively prevent others from free riding, some companies have gradually weaved a solid protection network through relevant protective measures starting from their trademark registration applications. Often, joint trademarks and defensive trademarks become ideal choices for famous trademarks to protect themselves.

Some of the registered trademarks registered by Xiaomi and Alibaba are the most typical. At first glance, you will think that these trademarks are like a "cold joke". It is up to you whether you laugh or not. But as Japanese sales expert Mr. Mitsuo Kami said: "When operators keep their eyes on trademarks, they can hope to make the company prosper." How operators view trademark issues, how to use trademark assets, and how to plan trademark strategies are key A very large integrated knowledge.

The so-called joint trademarks mainly refer to several similar trademarks registered by the same company on the same goods or similar goods. Among these trademarks, the trademark that is first registered or mainly used is the official trademark, and the rest are joint trademarks. Literally, right? Stop talking and look at the picture:

The above is completely the sense of substitution of "Alibaba Family Bucket"!

Ali’s father, Ali’s mother, Ali’s grandfather, Ali’s grandma, Ali’s sister, Ali’s sister, Ali’s brother, Ali’s baby, Ali’s relatives are all here. The most unexpected thing is that the Ali family also considered the need to combine Chinese and Western styles, and even aligrandpa, aliaaunt... have also registered. At the end, I almost forgot whether it was Alibaba or Alibaba!

The above is the embodiment of the Ali family's "joint trademark" strategy.

Although the value of a joint trademark is not as obvious as a defensive trademark, its power lies in preventing some companies from adopting "make-up techniques" and using signs similar to their well-known trademarks with ulterior motives.

The current common trademark registration rule is "as long as the goods are not similar, trademark registration does not interfere with each other" (except for well-known trademarks). As a result, there may be "Xiaomi" mobile phones or "Xiaomi" perfumes. In fact, the two manufacturers may have nothing to do with each other, but some consumers may think that it is normal for companies to diversify their operations nowadays, such as the well-known LG company. In addition to making electronic products, it is also involved in toothpaste... Even if Xiaomi does not currently make perfume, if Xiaomi perfume appears on the market, some consumers may think that this is one of its newly developed product lines.

In order to prevent such associations or confusion, some companies will register their trademarks in multiple product categories. These trademarks registered for defense are called defensive trademarks. In other words, the trademark originally mainly used by the enterprise is the official trademark, and the remaining trademarks registered on different categories of goods or services to protect the main product trademark are defensive trademarks. Stop talking and look at the picture:

Lei Jun is currently the chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Technology. He is also the chairman of Kingsoft, YY and other companies. It is not surprising that this name has been registered as a trademark. In addition to registering its main products, Boss Lei also registered the "Lei Jun" trademark in Class 10. Does anyone know what trademark category Class 10 is?

Class 10 is the medical device category, and condoms are also included in this category. Maybe Boss Lei also wants to make a "Lei Jun brand" condom? It’s hard to tell if he can compete with Durex, the top copywriter. Apart from being a joke, it also reflects Boss Lei’s “defensive trademark” strategy.

From a competitive perspective, another benefit of the “defensive trademark” strategy is to register the same trademark on goods or services that are unfavorable to the applied trademark as much as possible to avoid damaging the enterprise. It will have an adverse impact. For example, if a company uses the "delicious" trademark on its catering services, but if someone registers this trademark on products such as toilets, and promotes and uses both at the same time, it will more or less be detrimental to the company's catering services. Influence.

But whether it is a "joint trademark" strategy or a "defensive trademark" strategy, when "the assassin has not broken in"?, you may feel that it is useless, but it is like a regret medicine. When a dispute occurs Sometimes you will sigh: Fortunately I did it at that time, otherwise...