Response to 'Wulong Yuan' Trademark Revocation Controversy: TIPO Clarifies Partial Revocation and No On-Site Investigation

WISECODE Take

The controversy surrounding comic artist Ao You-xiang's trademark No. 02003530 'Wulong Yuan and Device' is essentially a revocation filed by a third party under Article 63, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Trademark Act for non-use, rather than authority suppression. TIPO clarified that the decision only revoked unused categories such as Class 30 tea beverages and Class 43 restaurants, while retaining 'hotel' services backed by evidence of use, leaving the author's copyright completely unaffected. This shows that trademark rights are evaluated per item, and defense lines fail without real commercial use. For businesses, multi-class registrations unused for 3 consecutive years risk being targeted on undefended flanks; however, as long as core operations maintain sales invoices or promo records, there is no need to panic. Zhidian provides trademark monitoring and maintenance services to help enterprises audit evidence of use and solidify protection. Management should take two key steps: first, systematically organize invoices and advertising evidence from the past 3 years for each registered class; second, if notified by TIPO, submit supplemental evidence and defense within the statutory deadline. Trademark maintenance resembles defending a outpost—true protection stems from continuous commercial traces, not just a registration certificate.