Trademark Wiki / 专业术语

Generic Names

TermPublished 2026-09-17 · Updated 2026-09-17

A generic name is a product name prescribed by national or industry standards or established through long-term customary use; under Article 11(1)(i) of the Trademark Law it may not be registered, and even registered trademarks face cancellation through genericide.

A generic name is the name, device, or model of goods (or services) prescribed by national or industry standards, or universally recognized by the relevant public through long-term use. It is a public resource that no operator may monopolize. Such names can neither be registered as trademarks, nor—once a registered trademark degenerates into such a name—escape the risk of cancellation.

Two Categories of Generic Names

  1. Statutory generic names: product names explicitly prescribed in national or industry standards. These have an authoritative basis and are relatively straightforward to establish;
  2. Customary generic names: names without a standards basis that, through long-term and extensive use, have come to be commonly used by the relevant public as the generic designation of a type of goods. The assessment may reference industry custom, professional reference works, authoritative literature, actual market usage, and consumer perception.

Both fall within Article 11(1)(i): "signs consisting solely of the generic name, device, or model of the goods."

Criteria of Assessment

  • The standard is the general perception of the relevant public: not the perception of individual enterprises, individual regions, or individual experts;
  • Limited to the designated goods or services: the same name yields different conclusions on different goods; genericness is bound to particular goods;
  • Based on the factual state at the time of approved registration or at the time of the dispute: having distinctive features at registration does not guarantee having them forever;
  • Time and territory are considered: a customary generic name may be established only within a particular geographic area, and the assessment must examine whether that area covers the principal market for which protection is sought.

Distinction from Descriptive Signs

  • A generic name answers "what is this product called," pointing to the name, device, or model of the product itself;
  • A descriptive sign answers "what are this product's characteristics," pointing to attributes such as quality, raw materials, function, intended purpose, weight, and quantity;
  • In refusal and invalidation proceedings the two engage different items (item (i) and item (ii)), but both belong to Article 11(1) and can both obtain registration by acquiring distinctiveness through use under Article 11(2).

Genericide: From Trademark to Generic Name

Genericide refers to the process by which a registered trademark that originally had distinctive features gradually becomes the generic designation of a type of goods through the rights holder's improper use or changes in market usage, thereby losing its distinctive character.

There are three common causes:

  • The rights holder uses the trademark as a product name, mixing the trademark and the product name in its publicity;
  • The rights holder tolerates the use of the trademark by peers, media, and platforms as a category name without taking corrective action;
  • The industry lacks a unified technical name, and the market naturally borrows the earliest trademark to name the category.

The legal consequence is clear: under Article 49(2), where a registered trademark becomes the generic name of its designated goods, any entity or individual may apply to CNIPA for cancellation of the registration. This ground of cancellation requires no proof of the applicant's malice; it looks only at the factual state of relevant-public perception.

Practical Points and Common Pitfalls

Practical Points

  • Naming stage: screen industry standards, professional reference works, and e-commerce platform category names to avoid adopting an industry generic designation as the brand name; also avoid "brand name + product name" combinations that mislead consumers into thinking the former is also a product name;
  • Use stage: present the trademark alongside the product name; do not use the trademark as a noun; mark the registration symbol on packaging, pages, and advertising; do not coin new category self-designations;
  • Maintenance stage: when media, platforms, or distributors use the trademark as a generic name, promptly issue reminders or correction letters; keep monitoring peers who use the trademark to refer to the whole category;
  • Responding to cancellation: when a cancellation application is filed on the ground that the name "has become generic," evidence must be submitted that the name still points to the applicant's goods, including long-term use and promotion materials, survey reports on relevant-public perception, examples of the industry and media still using it as a brand designation, and proof that the trade generally does not use the name.

Common Pitfalls

  • Believing registration makes it safe: genericide cancellation targets precisely registered trademarks;
  • Misjudging the scope of perception: the standard is the general perception of the relevant public—"only insiders call it that" actually favors the rights holder;
  • Failing to use distinctively after registering a generic name: this is the most common trigger of genericide.

The application of these concepts in practice varies in detail; before proceeding, you may consult a registered agent via MyTMBee for targeted analysis.