淺談華人律師因不實商標申請而遭美商標局調查並處分
This has been going on for awhile, but the fairly cozy Chinese-American legal circle became aware of some disciplinary cases involving our own. All of them have worked with unscrupulous Chinese agents in attempting to register trademarks that were fraudulent.
這問題已經持續了一段時間，但華裔美國法律界開始意識到一些涉及這個小圈子的紀律案件。 有些律師曾與不道德的中國代理商合作，試圖註冊欺詐性商標。
Chinese companies can absolutely register trademarks in the U.S. However, they must be able to prove use in commerce via the filing of a Statement/Allegation of Use (SOU). This is a rather unique requirement as most other countries are registration-only; i.e. the application and examination itself is sufficient for registration and no proof of use is required.
中國公司絕對可以在美國註冊商標。但是，他們必須提交”使用聲明” (SOU) 來證明其在商業中的使用。 這是一個相當獨特的要求，因為大多數其他國家/地區採取註冊保護制；即申請和審查本身就足以註冊，不需要使用證明。
Where many of these overseas cases apparently go wrong, is that there is not actual use and the SOUs submitted were fraudulent, possibly to get around having to pay extension fees for intent-to-use applications that are allowable. Local governments sometimes subsidized the filing of these applications, which made the problem worse.
許多這些海外案例顯然出錯的地方在於，沒有實際使用，並且提交的使用聲明是假造的，可能是為了規避支付延期費。中國地方政府有時會補貼這些申請的提交，這使問題變得更糟。
In response to these issues, the USPTO instituted new rules that required overseas clients be represented by a U.S.-based attorney. Clients that have no residency or domicile in the U.S. can no longer represent themselves. Some entrepreneurial organizations then attempted to keep these additional costs low by engaging with U.S.-based lawyers to sign cases en masse with no attempt at verification. In one case, an attorney charged as little as $10 per case; in another, more than 13,000 signatures were filed by a single attorney. Still another simply allowed the Chinese company to sign on their behalf in exchange for a weekly or monthly payment.
針對這些問題，美國專利商標局制定了新規則，要求海外客戶由美國律師代表。 在美國沒有居民身份或住所的客戶無法自行填表。某些中國代理商便試圖通過與美國律師合作，在不進行核實的情況下集體簽署案件，以降低這些額外成本。 在一個案例中，一名律師每件案件的收費僅為 10 美元； 在另一個案例中，一位律師提交了超過 13,000 個簽名。 還有一人逕行讓中國代理代他簽字，以換取每週或每月的報酬。
Attorneys involved were disciplined with suspension or public reprimand. All involve filing burdensome paperwork on a regular basis to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline at the USPTO, attending ethics courses, and permanent records on their law licenses. I’m not attaching any links because I know some of these individuals personally, but you can search for them with attorney name + “Official Gazette.”
涉案律師遭到停權或公開批評的紀律處分。 所有人都得定期向美國專利商標局的紀律辦公室 (OED) 提交繁瑣的文書檔案，接受律師道德操守的重新教育，並在執照上留下永久記錄。 我沒有附加任何鏈接，因為我個人認識其中一些人，但您可以通過搜尋律師姓名 + “Official Gazette” 找到他們。
How to avoid unscrupulous trademark agents
如何避免不道德的商標代理人
Let price be your guide. It is clear that little or no client intake, fact gathering, or counseling can be performed by lawyers who are paid $10 per case. Market pricing on a one-class U.S. application can range from about 700-1000 USD (I charge $800). The USPTO fee is $250 so that just leaves $550 of legal fees which is equivalent to 2.2 hours of billable time, which is not enough time as is for competent representation. The good old days where anyone can fill and file are long gone, so I would be extremely skeptical of any quotes that are significantly below that range.
讓價格說話。 很明顯，每件案件收費 10 美元的律師根本無法替客戶完成任何實質工作。申請一尼斯大類的市價範圍約為 700-1000 美元（我收取 $800）。 美國專利商標局的規費為 250 美元，因此只剩 550 美元作為律師費，相當於我 2.2 小時的鐘點費。要在這個時間內完成建檔，收集資料，搜尋，遞件等工作不太可能。 新規出爐意味著任何人都能幫忙填表遞件的美好時代已經大江東去。對於任何遠低於以上標準的報價，我都採取非常懷疑的態度。
Who are you dealing with? If you only speak with the agent and not the attorney, that’s a red flag. If you do not sign an engagement letter / retainer agreement with the attorney, that’s also another red flag.
您在與誰打交道？ 如果您只與代理人而不是律師聯繫，那是一個警訊。 如果您沒有與律師簽署聘用/委任協議，那也是另一個警訊。
Don’t cut corners. A trademark registration obtained fraudulently does not have legal effect, and will fall with the simplest challenge (such as a TTAB proceeding). Filing fraudulent statements to the U.S. government will eventually bite you in the ass (for example, in a future immigration proceeding). Be particularly careful with “intent-to-use” (Trademark Act Section 1b) applications. Ask about the statement of use. If your agent tells you to make something up, that’s your clue to run away quickly.
不要偷工減料。 以欺詐手段獲得的商標註冊不具法律效力，並且抵擋不住最簡單的挑戰（例如 TTAB 行政訴訟）。 向美國政府提交虛假陳述會造成嚴重後果（譬如在未來的移民程序中）。 特別小心“意圖使用”（商標法 1B 條）申請案。 詢問如何提交使用證明。 如果代理人建議您假造某些東西，還是走為上策。
Do you really need a U.S. trademark at this moment? Because the U.S. trademark system is predicated on use, a good rule of thumb is to only file for marks when you are certain to use them. At least, you should have concrete business plans or have already begun use. There is no requirement that you must obtain USPTO registration before you start your business and for most industries filing for trademarks doesn’t have to be a priority (there are some notable exceptions, like fashion, where branding comprise all of the value of your goods).
您現在真的需要美國商標嗎？ 由於美國商標制度以使用為前提，按照經驗法則，您應該在確定要使用商標時再申請商標。 至少，您應該有具體的商業計劃或已經開始使用。 法律沒有要求您必須在開展業務之前獲得商標局註冊，並且對於大多數行業而言，申請商標不一定是優先事項（有某些例外，例如時尚或精品，品牌構成了您商品的所有價值，所以必須優先保護）。
What I see often is that entrepreneurs become obsessed with the possibility of competition, i.e. someone “stealing their name” before they’ve even built anything. Allow me to be very blunt: most of the time, the name you chose for your brand is just not that clever.
我經常看到的是，創業者滿腦子想著潛在競爭的可能性，即有人在他們還沒有開賣之前就“盜用了他們的名字”。 請允許我直言不諱：大多數時候，您為品牌選擇的名稱並非很了不起。
If you have any questions, please reach out using the form under “Contact.” I’ve helped many Chinese clients obtain intellectual property in the U.S., and can make sure your IP is strong and enforceable.
如果您有任何問題，請使用 “Contact” 表格與我們聯繫。 本人已經幫助許多華語客戶在美國獲得知識產權，並且盡可能確保您的智財強而有力， 歡迎諮詢。