I. IPR Management
1. Terminology
1.1 Intellectual Property Right (IPR)
IPR, also known as "Intellectual Ownership", refers to "property rights enjoyed by the right holders to their creation of the mind", which are generally valid only for a limited period of time. IPR is just a general term and mainly includes patent right, trademark right and copyright depending on the protected object.
1.2 Patent Right (Patents)
Patent right: the exclusive right of the inventor or his transferee to execute a specific invention within a certain period according to law. Patents include the following three types:
(1) Invention
Invention: a new technical solution for the product, method or improvement thereof. The scope of protection is based on the content of the claims in the approved licensing statement, and the statement and attached drawings can be used to explain the claims. In China, the protection for invention is 20 years.
(2) Utility Model
Utility model: a new technical solution relating to a product's shape, structure, or a combination thereof, which is fit for practical use. The utility model only protects the product. In China, the protection for utility model is 10 years.
(3) Design
Design: a new design relating to a product's shape, pattern or a combination thereof, or the combination of colors, shapes and patterns, which is aesthetically pleasing and applicable for industry. The carrier of the design must be a product. In China, the protection for design is 10 years.
1.3 Trademark Right
A trademark is a commercial mark used to distinguish different sources of goods and services, consisting of words, figures, letters, numbers, three-dimensional signs, color combinations or combinations of the above elements. The trademark right, short for exclusive right to use trademark, is the exclusive right granted by trademark office to the owner to protect his registered trademark by law. It also refers to the trademark registrant's right to exercise his registered trademark and to prohibit infringement by others by law, including the right to exclusive use, usufruct, disposal, renewal and right to forbid infringement by others.
1.4 Copyright
It refers to the author's and other copyright holders' exclusive rights to literary, artistic and scientific engineering works. It is a general term for property rights (publishing, reproduction, etc.) and personal rights (signature, etc.) legally enjoyed by natural persons, legal persons or other organizations for literary, artistic or scientific works.
1.5 Self-owned Brand
It refers to the brand independently developed by the enterprise, with independent IPR.
1.6 Licensed Brand
Also known as brand licensing, the licensor (copyright owner or agent) grants the trademark or brand he owns or represents to the licensee in the form of a contract; the licensee conducts business (usually to produce or sell a product or provide a service) based on the contract and pays a fee - a royalty; the licensor guides and assists the licensee in personnel training, organization design and operation management.
2. Types of IPR Infringement
IPR violations include the following three types, and for any violations and penalties, please refer to Penalty for Banned Restricted Sales and IP Infringement.
2.1. Infringement of patent right: the act of using a patent for the purpose of making profits without permission of the patentee;
two point two Infringement of trademark right: the act of infringing the exclusive right to use a registered trademark for the purpose of making profits without permission of the right holder;
two point three Infringement of copyright: the act of infringing the copyright for the purpose of making profits without permission of the copyright owner, involving a large amount of illegal earnings or other serious circumstances.
II. Standards on Brand Product Sales
3. Qualifications
3.1 Qualifications & Requirements
The brand sales consist of independent brands and licensed brands, sellers shall submit qualification documents according to the rules based on their own conditions. The specific requirements are as follows:
4. Brand Licensing Deposit
4.1 Payment of Brand Deposit
The seller shall pay a brand licensing deposit of RMB20,000 (USD 3,000) after the preliminary review.
4.2 Use of Brand Deposit
If the brand licensing or purchase documents are updated, the seller shall notify the site and submit the updated documents in time. If the seller's shop violates the rules for brand sales, DHgate will deduct the money based on the severity.
For specific penalties and deduction requirements, please refer to the following table:
Note:
one If the product sold by the seller suffers complaints from the brand owner and the seller doesn't file an appeal or the appeal fails, DHgate will default to a counterfeit product and impose relevant penalties and deductions based on the above rules.
two If the seller receives complaints from the IPR holder or a third party organization about selle fron of the license, the deposit may be returned after the approval of DHgate.
DHgate clearing: DHgate has the right to clear the seller based on the rules, and shall return the balance after clearing to the bank account where the seller pays the deposit.
4.5 Free of Interest
DHgate shall not pay any interest on the deposit to the seller.