A Generic Term Incorporated Could Cause the Entire Trademark Invalidated

Late last year, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) upheld an opposition decision by the China Trademark Office (CTMO) disapproving the registration of trademark No. 14876938 for

on the goods "Manure for Agriculture; Fertilizer, etc." in Class 1.

Both the TRAB and CTMO held that the Chinese characters "授粉精华液" , with their conceptual meaning of "pollination essence", is a generic term commenly used in the agricultural sector as a substitution for insect-driven crop pollination. Since these Chinese characters are the major distinctive part of the Subject Mark compared with the remaining elements' pinyin "Lantian" and device, the Subject Mark overall lacks distinctiveness and is therefore not registerable according to Article 11(1) of the China Trademark Law.