On The Legal Protection Of Sound Trademark

The Trademark Law,which came into effect on May 1,2014,has made some changes in response to the trend of diversification in the trademark field,such as the deletion of the word "visual" in Article 8,which means that the registration of non-visible trademarks is no longer prohibited in China.Audible and audible sound trademarks and odor trademarks are flourishing in the trademark field,and we can also find alternative trademarks such as the ringing tone of Apple’s cell phone compared with traditional trademarks in every scene of life.Translated with www.Deep L.com/Translator(free version)The article uses comparative research,case study and theoretical-practical methods to summarize the forms of expression and criteria for determining the distinctiveness of sound trademarks in other countries and regions,explain the current status of China’s legislation,and then illustrate the significance of distinctive features for passing the registration examination of sound trademarks in the context of China’s cases.Then,we summarize the problems that have existed or will be faced in the process of sound trademark protection in China according to the current legislative and judicial situation in China,and give corresponding countermeasures.The first part of the article serves as a preface to introduce the preliminary preparations in writing the article;then it is an overview of the basic theories of sound trademarks,especially explaining that sound trademarks differ from traditional trademarks in that they have a higher need for auditory recognition and require a certain amount of time in recognition,and they also have the problem of difficulty in establishing distinctiveness despite the fact that they can be widely disseminated by relying on the media;the third part of the writing focuses on the extraterritorial observation of the substantive and formal elements of sound trademarks,introduces the current status of China’s legislation based on the theoretical and legal provisions on sound trademarks in the context of extraterritoriality and interprets them,and then analyzes the requirements for the distinctiveness of sound trademarks with particular attention to the registration of sound trademarks,starting with two cases;the fourth part introduces what problems need to be solved in the process of protecting sound trademarks in China.The article concludes by giving solutions to the problems of sound trademarks in China mentioned in the previous article.