Apple has been facing major problems in China, all involving the difficulty of receiving a definitive status for their trademarks on the Chinese market. And Apple seems not to be the only one in this mess. Another giant is witnessing firsthand the cold shoulder of the Chinese authorities. Social media giant Facebook has started to register its relevant trademarks only to find out they were…well….taken.
Based on the information found on the website of the Trademark Office of China’s industry, Facebook started its trademark registration in the country back in 2006 and since then has filled 61 applications under the “Facebook†name, both in English and Chinese. Facebook’s representative East IP Group stated that some of the names such as the Chinese translation of the word “Facebook†has been monopolized already by users living in the country.
“We are collecting evidence, hoping to reclaim these trademarks based on Facebook’s popularity and social awareness.†An East IP spokesperson said. Legal experts claim that companies looking to do business in China should first sit down and try to understand how China’s trademark law works, before jumping in the water with their head first. The law is fundamentally different from that in the United States.
China uses a “first to file†system when it comes to trademarks, which means that the first one to come is served first. While in the United States the policy is “first to useâ€. This means that somebody applying for a trademark here would have to show that it has worked with the mark in business before.
