Intellectual property protection of tourism

The scenic spots such as "Hanging Green", "He Xiangu" and "Baishui Village" are the products of Zengcheng's natural creation and cultural accumulation for thousands of years, which contain inestimable cultural, brand and economic values. Business-minded individuals use loopholes in the national trademark law to register trademarks and want to take them for themselves. This matter cannot but be thought-provoking-the development of intellectual property protection in tourism should go ahead.

I have talked with people who care about Zengcheng's tourism, and I am deeply worried that the tourist attractions such as "Gualv", "He Xiangu" and "Baishui Village" reported by Zengcheng Daily on June 25th this year have been registered by private companies. Coincidentally, from Lop Nur, Huo Yan and Baiyanggou in Xinjiang to "Million Sunflower Garden" in Guangzhou, in recent years, there are examples of registered trademarks in tourist attractions all over the country, and even 46 trademarks are registered in Wuzhishan, Hainan Island. Article 4 of the Trademark Law of the State stipulates: "If a natural person, legal person or other organization needs to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods it produces, manufactures, processes, selects and distributes, it shall apply to the Trademark Office for trademark registration. If a natural person, legal person or other organization needs to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for the services it provides, it shall apply to the Trademark Office for registration of a service trademark. " According to this regulation, every citizen has the right to register a trademark. It is not surprising that scenic spots with economic potential are registered as their own trademarks driven by interests, and it is not surprising to seek illegitimate interests through legal means. In order to nip in the bud, the tourism development department should be far-sighted and protect the intangible assets of scenic spots according to law. Fisherman's pattern in Zhuhai and Danxia Mountain, a world geological and geomorphological nature reserve, are trademarks registered in the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and protected by law.

Malicious cybersquatting violates the principle of good faith and harms the interests of others, which is immoral. Article 9 of the Trademark Law of the State stipulates: "A trademark applied for registration shall have distinctive features and be easy to identify, and shall not conflict with the legal rights previously obtained by others." Article 31: "The application for trademark registration shall not damage the prior rights of others, nor shall it preempt the registration of trademarks that others have used and have certain influence by improper means." The key is that "prior rights" must be obtained voluntarily by the parties concerned according to law, such as patent right, trademark right and copyright. The unique landscapes in the world, such as the green mother tree of Zengcheng West Garden, He Xiangu Family Temple, Panlong Gu Teng and ancient sea relics, are all treasures of Zengcheng, which cannot be copied or regenerated. If these priceless treasures are not obtained by the competent government departments in time according to law, once the intellectual property rights are registered by others, a series of sequelae will occur. For example, after the registered trademark of "Million Sunflower Garden" in Guangzhou is registered, even if it is bought at a huge sum of money, or the trademark review and adjudication board is requested to cancel the registered trademark through legal means, the procedure will take a lot of time and energy, which is too uneconomical.

Zengcheng has profound tourism resources, unique geological features, rich original ecological environment and cultural and historical landscape. For example, the Beiqiu cultural site of Neolithic Age in Jinlan Temple 5000 years ago and Xintanghai Cave 70 million years ago. It is of dual value to world scientific research and tourism. It is suggested that experts in archaeology, geology, history, geography, biology, culture, science and technology should be organized to make a serious investigation, list the tourist attractions suitable for development, and choose elegant, catchy and unique phrases as trademarks or copyrights for registration. Historical experience is worth learning, and Zengcheng's tourism development and intellectual property protection should go ahead. By the way, private cybersquatting is risky and not worth advocating. Trademark registration includes commodity trademarks, service trademarks, collective trademarks, certification trademarks and other types, in which certification trademarks refer to marks controlled by organizations that have the ability to supervise a commodity or service and used by units or individuals outside the organization to prove the origin, raw materials, manufacturing methods, quality or other specific qualities of the commodity or service. Natural persons cannot apply for certification of trademarks. So no matter how powerful a person is, there are always limitations. Moreover, the Trademark Office may revoke a registered trademark that has been discontinued for three consecutive years.