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For example:

McDonald's

Word mark
 Device mark
 Logo



There is no perfect option for different situations, it depends on what is your first consideration.

If you worry your trademark name is squatted by others, you shall file the word mark immediately once you have decided the brand name. Such a trademark will allow the owner to use its trademark logo in any font and style.

If you have to control budget and do not want to submit too many applications, you can submit the well-designed device mark or combination mark.

If you concern the usage of ®, then you shall submit separate applications for the parts that you would like to put the ®.

For example:

McDonald's
 麥當勞
English Characters
 Chinese Characters
 Logo

There is no perfect option for different situations, it depends on what is your first consideration.

If you have to control budget, you can submit the combination mark in one application.

If you concern the usage of ® and want to use ® on the English characters, Chinese characters and logo separately, then you shall submit separate applications for English characters, Chinese characters and logo.

For example:



Black and White (B&W)
 Colour

A colour claim is a limitation and narrows down the protection for a mark. It is usually advisable to claim colour when a particular colour is considered to be an important and essential element of the mark.

For most countries, only one mark could be submitted for each application. It is advisable to file the B&W logo. If finances allow, a separate application for colour mark may be filed at the same time.

For some countries, e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, etc. you are allowed to submit series marks for one application. Then you may request to submit both colour mark and B&W mark in one application.

For most countries, only one mark could be submitted for each application. In contrast with this kind of application, which is series mark application. Series mark application is one application covers more than one mark. However, the requirement of a series mark application are the characteristics of series marks shall be essentially the same, essentially indistinguishable and the differences are not affecting the consistency of the marks.


Examples of marks forming a series:

A)        Differences in upper and lower case:

CHERRY
 Cherry
TIFFTOFF
 TIFFtoff


B)        Same word in different scripts or fonts:

CHERRY
 CHERRY
TIFFTOFF
 TIFFTOFF


C)           Differences in punctuation:

BORF
 B.O.R.F
UKNY
 U.K.N.Y


D)        Chinese words in traditional and simplified characters:

知識產權
 知识产权
格爾斯
 格尔斯


E)         Differences in non-distinctive feature of colour:



CHERRY
 CHERRY


Examples of marks (may) not forming a series:



SMILE
 S-MILE
LOVE

LO

VE

It is advisable to use different level of grey colours to present different colours. You may ask your designer to adjust it.

For example:




Generally, individuals, corporations or unincorporated associations can apply for a trademark. In China, Chinese individuals can not apply for a trademark under his own name, the applicants that can be accepted by the Trademark Office includes corporations, individually owned business, foreign corporations and foreign individuals.
It varies by country. While some countries take 4-6 months for registration, some countries take 2-3 years because of the shortage of manpower and heavy workload of the examiner.
The procedures depend on the country. In general, once the Trademark Office receives an application, it will proceed with formality examination (deficiencies checking), substantive examination, publication and grant.
Before beginning to examine the application, the Trademark Office will carry out a thorough check of the application form and any attachments to see if all the necessary parts of the form(s) have been filled in, if they are correct and if any required information is missing.
If any required information is missing, the Trademark Office will issue a notice and ask you to provide the information to remedy the deficiencies within a designated period. We highly recommend you appoint a professional agent, like Kaizen, to assist you to submit application to avoid any deficiencies.