Legally, trademark refusal grounds fall into two broad categories: absolute grounds and relative grounds. Absolute grounds concern whether the sign itself is registrable as a trademark; relative grounds concern conflicts with prior rights. The response strategies for the two categories are entirely different.
Absolute Grounds
- Violation of prohibited signs (Article 10): identical with or similar to state names, national flags, national emblems, etc.; deceptive signs likely to mislead the public as to the quality or other characteristics or place of origin of the goods; signs detrimental to socialist morals or customs or having other adverse effects; place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level or foreign place names known to the public (subject to exceptions).
- Lack of distinctiveness (Article 11): signs consisting only of the generic name, device, or model number of the goods; signs merely and directly indicating the quality, raw materials, function, intended use, or other characteristics of the goods; other signs lacking distinctive character. However, signs that have acquired distinctive character through use and are readily identifiable may be registered.
- Functionality limits on three-dimensional signs (Article 12): shapes resulting solely from the nature of the goods themselves or necessary to obtain a technical effect may not be registered.
- Bad-faith applications without intent to use (Article 4): applications involving mass hoarding of trademarks without genuine intent to use will be refused.
- Agency violations (Article 19(4)): applications by trademark agencies for trademarks other than their agency services will not be accepted.
Relative Grounds
- Conflict with prior trademarks (Articles 30 and 31): identical with or similar to another person's trademark that has been registered, preliminarily approved, or previously applied for on the same or similar goods. The examiner will identify the cited trademarks in the refusal notice.
Why the Classification Matters
- Relative grounds can be resolved by removing the citation obstacle (non-use cancellation, invalidation, coexistence agreements, assignment);
- Among absolute grounds, lack of distinctiveness can be remedied with use evidence, but the prohibited signs are essentially unresolvable;
- Misclassification leads to a completely misguided strategy — for example, submitting use evidence against an Article 10 refusal is entirely useless.
For a detailed article-by-article interpretation, see the refusal-grounds response guide in this group.
In similar situations, it is advisable to first consult a registered trademark agent on MyTMBee to assess whether a trademark registration evaluation is needed before deciding on the next step.