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2021-08-27 18:30:13

Introduction

导言

Recently, Drew Hirshfeld, performing the functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and David Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO, blogged on “Director’s Forum: A Blog from USPTO’s Leadership” on the topic of “USPTO’s comprehensive strategy to fight trademark fraud”.

近日，美国专利商标局（USPTO）局长兼商务部知识产权助理部长德鲁·赫什菲尔德（Drew Hirshfeld）与商标专员大卫·古德（David Gooder）在“USPTO局长论坛”联合发文，主题为“USPTO打击商标欺诈行为的综合战略”。

Businesses at home and abroad are becoming more and more aware of the value and benefits of a U.S. trademark registration. Unfortunately, along with the historic surge of new trademark filings over the past year, the USPTO has also seen an increase in suspicious submissions ranging from inaccurate to fraudulent. The Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General, after analyzing a snapshot of data (applications filed between October 2, 2019 and April 30, 2020), found that we need to enhance controls aimed at combatting this increase in suspicious filings. We agree, and have been actively enhancing our register protection efforts to meet this challenge for some time now. The integrity and accuracy of our trademark register is more important than ever to our economy, to businesses everywhere, and to the USPTO.

国内外企业越来越意识到美国商标注册的价值和好处。不幸的是，随着过去一年中商标新申请数量的历史性激增，USPTO也看到了从不准确到欺诈的可疑申请（suspicious submissions）的数量增加。商务部监察长办公室在分析数据快照（2019年10月2日至2020年4月30日期间提交的申请）后发现，我们需要加强控制措施以应对可疑申请的增加。我们赞成，并且近期内一直在积极加强我们的注册保护工作以应对这一挑战。我们商标注册的完整性和准确性对我们的经济、各地企业和USPTO来说比以往任何时候都更加重要。

The rise in fraudulent trademark filings and trademark-related scams has driven us to implement new strategies and tactics to intensify our attack against those who would seek to undermine the value and legitimacy of this important intellectual property right. A change of approach, which we embarked on several years ago, was necessary to confront an unprecedented threat, one that is common among industries dealing with the scourge of counterfeits, fakes, illicit trade, and even piracy. We believe the best way to fight trademark application fraud and scams and to aggressively safeguard our trademark register is to pivot to a comprehensive brand protection-type strategy.

虚假商标申请和商标相关欺诈行为的增加促使我们实施新的策略和战术，以加大对那些试图破坏这一重要知识产权的价值和合法性的人的打击力度。我们几年前开始改变方法，以应对前所未有的威胁，这种威胁在处理假冒、赝品、不法贸易甚至盗版行为中很常见。我们相信，打击虚假商标申请和欺诈并积极保护我们的商标注册的最佳方法是转向全面的品牌保护型战略。

As of this writing, the USPTO has experienced a 40+% increase in trademark applications over the past year, representing the greatest number of new trademark applications in history. This increase in applications has been driven by a number of factors during the pandemic, including the growth of cross-border e-commerce, foreign government subsidies, and a tremendous rise in new business formation. Thousands of foreign manufacturers that want to sell directly to U.S. consumers have been told that they need a U.S.-registered trademark for their products to receive priority position on e-commerce sales platforms. Even though this is not necessarily true, the phenomenon has spawned new low-cost filing mills, multi-national scams, and even created a secondary market for buying and selling U.S. trademark registrations.

在撰写本文时，USPTO的商标申请数量在过去一年中增长了40%以上，这是历史上商标新申请数量最多的一次。新冠疫情期间，申请量的增长受到跨境电商的增长、外国政府补贴以及新公司设立数量的巨大增长等多种因素的推动。数千家想直接向美国消费者出售商品的外国制造商被告知，他们的产品需要在美国注册商标才能在电商销售平台上获得优先地位。尽管这不一定是真的，但这种现象催生了新的低成本“申请工厂”、跨国欺诈行为，甚至创造了买卖美国商标的二级市场。

As a result, low-cost trademark filing companies claiming to specialize in the acquisition of U.S. trademarks have aggressively been marketing their services to potential and unsuspecting clients. Most foreign manufacturers and sellers have little or no experience with U.S. trademark laws and registration procedures so they don’t know whether or not these services are legitimate.

因此，声称专门从事美国商标收购的低成本商标申请公司一直在积极向潜在的毫无戒心的客户推销他们的服务。大多数外国制造商和销售商对美国商标法和注册程序几乎没有经验，因此他们不知道这些服务是否合法。

Conversely, many foreign agents are aware of the USPTO rules, yet try to find ways to circumvent them. For example, they hijack the credentials of attorneys licensed in the U.S. or they enter into relationships with questionable U.S. attorneys who rubber-stamp whatever paperwork they provide. The U.S. trademark registration system has historically relied upon the good faith intentions of its customers and their counsel. These illicit operators, however, are trying to game the system in order to illegally obtain U.S. registrations.

相反，许多外国代理人知道美国专利商标局的规定，但仍试图找到规避这些规定的方法。例如，他们盗用美国执业律师的资格，或者与有问题的美国律师建立关系，这些律师在他们提供的任何文书上盖上橡皮图章（意为不经审查即批准——编者注）。美国商标注册制度历来依赖于其客户及其律师的善意意图。然而，这些不法经营者正试图利用该系统来非法获得美国商标注册。

Traditionally, our examining attorneys have been on the front lines of this fight, but conducting investigations instead of examinations only does a disservice to legitimate applicants seeking trademark registrations. Moreover, the examination process does not always efficiently lend itself to discovering wider patterns of fraud and improper behavior that often taint many applications at a time.

一直以来，我们的审查员一直站在这场斗争的前线，但以调查代替审查只会伤害想要注册商标的合法申请人。此外，审查过程并不总能有效地发现更广泛的欺诈和不当行为模式，而这些行为通常会一次影响大量注册申请。

利用数据点跟踪类似申请的特别工作组

Special Task Force for Tracking Applications from Same Data Points

Because multiple applications are often filed by a single entity using the same data elements but owned by multiple applicants, it is by tracking those common data points through our IT systems that we identify and fight back against these schemes. To achieve this result on the scale we need, in 2019 we created – and are now expanding – a special task force of attorneys, analysts, cyber investigators and IT personnel to investigate submissions that we suspect are violating U.S. rules of practice, representation rules, or USPTO’s terms-of-use.

由于一个实体经常会使用相同的数据元素提交分属多个申请人的多件申请，因此我们通过我们的IT系统跟踪这些公用数据点来识别和阻挡这些申请。为了达到我们需要的规模，我们在2019年创建了一个由律师、分析师、网络调查员和IT人员组成的特别工作组，目前这个工作组正在扩大，以调查我们怀疑违反美国执业规则、代理规则、或USPTO使用条款的行为和实体。

调查律师不当行为

Investigation of Attorney Misconduct

The USPTO does not have law enforcement capability, so we leverage what we do have: the ability to enforce our rules against those seeking to circumvent them. Further, when an investigation uncovers attorney misconduct, we refer them to our Office of Enrollment and Discipline. And when an investigation involves suspected criminal activity, we engage with law enforcement authorities.

USPTO没有执法权限，所以我们利用我们所拥有的能力迫使那些试图规避规则的人执行我们的规则。此外，当调查发现律师有不当行为时，我们会将其提交给我们的注册和法纪办公室（Office of Enrollment and Discipline）。当调查涉及涉嫌犯罪活动时，我们会与执法当局合作。

说明理由命令

Show-cause Orders

For those suspected of violating the USPTO’s rules, we issue show-cause orders requiring them to establish that their filings and behavior are legitimate. If they respond inadequately, or if we find that applications were filed with the intent to circumvent our rules, then we issue a final order for sanctions, including terminating the tainted applications and blocking the filer’s access to our trademark system. Additionally, we are increasing our database security through login, identity authentication, and role-based access controls. Doing so will help prevent bad actors from submitting any future applications.

对于那些涉嫌违反USPTO规则的人，我们会发出说明理由的命令（show-cause order），要求他们证明他们的申请和行为是合法的。如果他们的答复不充分，或者如果我们发现提交的申请是为了规避我们的规则，那么我们会发布最终制裁令，包括终止不当申请并阻止申请者访问我们的商标系统。此外，我们正在通过登录、身份验证和基于角色的访问控制来提高我们的数据库安全性。这样做将有助于防止不当行为人之后再提交申请。

注册后使用证据审查项目

Post-Registration Proof of Use Audit Program

The USPTO has other new tools we are now employing against inaccurate or fraudulent submissions. For example, in our Post-Registration Proof of Use Audit Program, we implemented a fee penalty in January for those filing inaccurate claims-of-use in their filings to maintain their registrations. And this is starting to have a positive impact on accuracy.

我们目前也正在使用USPTO的其他新方式来防止不准确或欺诈性申请的提交。例如，在我们的注册后使用证据审查项目（Post-Registration Proof of Use Audit Program）中，我们在一月份对那些在其文件中提交不准确的使用声明以维持其注册的人实施了罚款处罚。这开始对准确性产生积极影响。

第三方质疑

Third-Party Challenges

Also, the soon-to-be implemented Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 will allow third parties to challenge registrations they believe are not or have never been validly used. These new cancellation proceedings will help clear our register of inaccurate and unused registrations which clutter the register and diminish its value to our country and the trademark ecosystem.

此外，即将实施的2020年商标现代化法案（Trademark Modernization Act of 2020）将允许第三方质疑他们认为未被或从未被有效使用的商标注册。这些新的撤销程序将有助于我们对不准确和未使用的注册的清理，因为这些注册会扰乱商标注册程序并降低其对我们国家和商标生态系统的价值。

The surge of trademark filings has created challenges, but those challenges also highlight the significant value of U.S. trademark registrations. Brands that are registered at the USPTO command more respect than ever before, and their growing status is a direct result of the U.S. trademark system that is constantly evolving. And as we forge ahead, we welcome every opportunity to work with our stakeholders both foreign and domestic to protect our register and issue trademarks that have true and lasting value.

商标申请的激增带来了挑战，但这些挑战也凸显了美国商标的巨大价值。在USPTO注册的商标比以往任何时候都更受尊重，其地位不断提高是美国商标制度不断发展的直接结果。在我们不断进取的同时，我们欢迎一切机会与国内外利益相关者合作，保护我们具有真实和持久价值的商标的注册。