90% of internet companies lag behind in brand construction, with a high repetitive rate in trademarks

2012/12/17

The newly released "2012 Famous Enterprise Brand Repetitive Rate and Brand Protection Report (Internet Industry)" looks at the status of brand protection of top 30 internet companies. 90% of internet companies seriously encounter trademark repetition. Weak protection in internet keywords, wireless websites and ".中国" domain names hinders the development of Chinese famous internet companies.

The Report reveals Chinese internet companies take a dim view of brand construction. Of the top 30 internet companies, 26 encounter trademark repetition. The most repeated brand has 256 "namesakes". The average number of brand repetition is 40.3. Compared with other industries studied by the Report, trademark repetitive rate of internet industry is higher. Trademark repetition not only hinders internet companies from conducting brand protection but also weakens brand features and enterprise value.

According to the Report, the regulation of trademark registration in different classes enables a keyword to be used by several companies, which mainly causes high trademark repetitive rate. Some small companies illegally raise their reputation by "free ride", causing trademark preemptive registration.

Taking Alibaba for example, there are 147 "阿里巴巴" (pinyin: Alibaba) trademark owners, who are legal applicants of internet keywords, wireless websites and ".中国" domain names.

Internet companies are born with network development. If the revenue of network information service accounts for more than 50% of sales income, network brand construction should be of good performance. But the status in quo is just the reverse.

Weak brand protection, especially for those operating in a network market, lay potential risks for Chinese internet companies. Exports suggest internet companies fully protect such network resources as internet keywords, wireless websites and ".中国" domain names so as to avoid damage on interests.

(Source: IPR in China)