How can cross-border e-commerce sellers avoid intellectual property minefields?

After cross-border e-commerce, the threshold of trade is getting lower and lower. Because of the weak understanding of intellectual property, sellers, especially Chinese sellers, can easily step into the minefield of intellectual property.

With the progress and development of trade and law, intellectual property has evolved from intangible assets to tangible assets. Intellectual property rights can be divided into three sections: trademark, patent and copyright. Among them, the trademark is the most intuitive, for consumers is the sign of identification and purchase. Secondly, patent is an important protection of products and property. And copyright is the right to cultural, artistic and scientific works.

The First Step of Intellectual Property Protection--Trademarks

Registered trademarks are not only common in trade, but also relatively easy. Whether Li is a traditional or platform salesman, some regulations require that he must have his own brand before he can be stationed. Therefore, registered trademark is the first step of intellectual property rights. But the registered trademark is not very simple, which involves the specific process of trademark registration.

A very important step before registered trademarks is to do the pre-inspection and evaluation. The second step is to submit an application to the Trademark Office to give the legal effect of the trademark. After this process, the trademark will belong. The third step is later trademark maintenance. For example, Amazon has a sound record system to prevent takeovers.

For the time limit and risk of trademark registration. Trademark validity is limited, basically 10 years, registration time is also limited, need to be deployed in advance.

Trademark risk is always backward, the initial review period may be rejected, but thanks to the early search and approval, there will be no problems. On the contrary, there are certain risks and basic principles in the period of objection and authorization. The principle of regionality is protected wherever registered. The application is the same as the use. It can't be applied in the text version, but logo is added when it is used.

The Importance of Intellectual Property Protection-Patents

Patents are of great significance and high value in terms of trade, but they are also difficult to apply for. If a product is altered on the basis of another product, then applying for a patent will result in infringement and possibly loss of money. It is suggested that we have our own original products and use the patent law to escort them. When we sell a product, we need to make sure that we can get a correct patent license, including later protection of our product rights, is also a very important process.

While emphasizing originality, we should also pay attention to the types and conditions of patent applications. The main types of patents are invention, utility and appearance. The conditions of application should satisfy novelty, creativity and practicability. For design patents, more attention should be paid to novelty and creativity, otherwise it is difficult for products to apply for patents.

In addition, it also involves the process of patent application. The basic procedure is to accept the case first, and there will be a preliminary hearing after the case is accepted. If the rejection needs to be complied with, and if all are passed, an authorized announcement will be made. Before making a patent, it will also do the corresponding search. Patents that have not been authorized can not be retrieved. Patent retrieval is the existence of blind areas. This is also a hidden risk in patent applications.

For the determination of infringement, from the perspective of invention and utility model, if the literal meaning is the same, it will cause literal infringement. Another is the same infringement, the two claims may not be the same, but the same act is also considered to be infringement. From the point of view of infringement of design patents, we still need to see whether it will cause confusion among consumers.

The role of copyright in trade is a source of doubt for many people. Copyright has copyright as long as the works appear. It can play a protective role in foreign trade if it is registered reasonably and effectively and has the author's certificate. Secondly, copyright is valid for life. If an author registers a copyright, its copyright will be valid 70 years after the author's death. The copyright of logo and pattern can be protected by copyright for their flat products.

When encountering intellectual property disputes on cross-border platforms, reconciliation can be adopted. Receiving letters or complaints from lawyers, don't ignore them. It's better to consult relevant lawyers to avoid risks and minimize damage. If it really reaches the stage of appellate court, it should also actively respond to the appeal. Finally, we should improve the operation and use of products and trademarks.