Process | Priority Right | Notice

Category of trademark and duration：

The trademark is categorized as certification marks, collective membership marks and collective trademarks.

Type of trademark：

Trademark：The term, use of trademark, as referred to in the Trademark Act connotes the utilization for marketing purpose of trademark on goods, services or relevant articles. A trademark may be composed of a word, figure, symbol, color, sound, three-dimensional shape or a combination. In the bottom line, a trademark as defined above shall be distinctive enough for relevant consumers of the goods or services to recognize it as identification to that goods or services and to differentiate such goods or services from those offered by others, while the title of specific goods or directly note on the product is not contained characteristic as trademark.

Collective trademark：Any business association, social organization, or any other group that exists as a juristic person and wishes to exclusively use a mark to identify the goods or services provided by its members, and therefore distinguishing these goods or services from those provided by others, may apply for collective trademark registration.

Collective membership mark：Any business association, social organization, or any other group that exists as a juristic person and wishes to exclusively use a mark to identify its organization or membership shall apply for collective membership mark registration. An application for collective membership mark registration of the preceding paragraph shall be filed with the Registrar Office by submitting in writing specifying relevant matters along with a set of articles governing the use of the collective membership mark thereto.

Certification mark：Any person who wishes to exclusively use a mark to certify the characteristics, quality, precision, place of origin or other matters of another person's goods or services shall apply for certification mark registration. Only a juristic person, an organization or a government agency which is capable of certifying another person's goods or services shall be eligible to apply for certification mark registration.

 FROM TIPO

Examination of trademark application process：Flow chart of examination for trademark application：

 FROM TIPO

Countries of mutual recognition for trademark priority right：

ROC is not a member country of Paris Convention, however, the claim of priority right from all WTO member countries will be accepted after joining WTO base on the regulation and obligation of Article 2 of TRIPS (except Mainland China).

FROM TIPO 

Notice

1. Renewal of trademark--Trademark rights may remain for a term of 10 years bestowed upon a right holder. A request for renewal may be filed within the trademark term, and a trademark term of 10 years shall be provided per successful renewal. Otherwise, the trademark right may extinguish after the next day of expiration of trademark term if the renewal is absent.
2. Obligation of continuously use the trademark—One may obtain trademark right after applying for a trademark registration, not only can oneself earn the exclusive right for his/her own product, but also can prevent others from using the same or similar trademark on the same of similar product. Thus, if the trademark holder is not active in use his/her own trademark, the goodwill of business will not create and business opportunity will be impeded; more importantly, the purpose of trademark protection will be failed. Therefore, if a trademark has not yet been put into use or has been suspended from use continuously for three years after registration, it shall be revoked.
3. Licensing of trademark shall be recorded—Base on the management of trademark right, a trademark right holder may license a person to use its registered trademark on part or whole of the designated goods or services thereof. Licensing shall be entered and recorded by the Registrar Office. An unrecorded entry shall not be asserted against any third party.
4. Prohibition of self-altered or supplemented with additional notes on similar trademark—Prohibition for self-altering or supplementing is to limit abuse of trademark. When the registered trademark is used not according to what it was originally, instead, it is used with changing mark, supplementing notes, figures to cause likelihood of confusion to relevant consumers by mistake cognition on the same or similar goods or services. Practically, if aforementioned situation is occurred, resulting in another trademark holder’s benefit to be affected, the trademark right shall be revoked.
5. Once the company name, representative, legal seal, or address is changed, the alteration shall be submitted to Competent Authority immediately.
6. Registered in ROC may only result in valid in ROC’s territory.

  FROM TIPO