Trademark Self-Service Application Agreement

Effective Date: -06-01 | Agreement No.:

Dear User (hereinafter referred to as "Party A" or "Applicant"):

Welcome to use the trademark self-service application platform provided by (hereinafter referred to as "the Platform"). Before submitting your order, please carefully read this Agreement in its entirety. Pay special attention to clauses highlighted in bold or underlined, which pertain to liability limitations, risk disclosures, and dispute resolution.

By checking "I have read and agree" and completing payment or material submission, you acknowledge that you have fully understood and accepted the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the complete legal document governing the rights and obligations among Party A, the Platform, the Filed Agency, and the Trademark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (hereinafter referred to as "CNIPA").

I. Definition of Four Parties and Legal Relationships

1. 1.1 Applicant (Party A): Refers to the natural person, legal entity, or non-legal organization registered on the Platform and submitting trademark applications. Party A is the owner of trademark rights and bears primary responsibility for the authenticity of submitted materials.
2. 1.2 The Platform (Technology Service Provider/Intermediary): Refers to , the operating entity of . The Platform provides technical support services including information matching, form systems, process visualization, and fee collection. The Platform does not directly engage in trademark agency practice and makes no substantive guarantees regarding trademark registration outcomes.
3. 1.3 Filed Agency (Party B): Refers to a trademark agency filed with CNIPA, matched by the Platform according to business rules to handle Party A's entrusted matters. Party B independently assumes legal liability for agency practice and forms a direct trademark agency contract relationship with Party A.
4. 1.4 CNIPA (Administrative Examination Authority): Refers to the Trademark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, which independently exercises administrative powers such as trademark examination, approval, and rejection in accordance with law. Its examination conclusions are not subject to the will of the Platform or Party B.

II. Scope of Services and AI Tool Disclaimer

1. 2.1 Core Services: Party B accepts Party A's entrustment to handle statutory procedural matters such as trademark registration applications, corrections, and receipt collection.
2. 2.2 Nature of AI Tools: AI-generated content provided by the Platform, including similarity searches, category recommendations, and risk assessments, serves solely as a reference tool for decision-making and does not constitute legal advice or a guarantee of registration success. Party A should make independent decisions based on commercial judgment or consultation with professional attorneys.
3. 2.3 Formal Review Boundaries: Party B only conducts formal checks on the completeness and formatting compliance of materials submitted by Party A. Party B assumes no obligation to verify the substantive authenticity, ownership, intent to use, or underlying transaction background of the materials.

III. Representations, Warranties, and Obligations of the Applicant

1. 3.1 Authenticity of Materials: Party A warrants that all submitted materials, including business licenses, ID cards, authorization letters, trademark specimens, and evidence of use, are true, lawful, valid, and free from forgery, alteration, or infringement of prior rights of others.
2. 3.2 Prohibition of Bad-Faith Filings: Party A commits not to obtain registrations through deceptive or other improper means, not to file mass applications for hoarding purposes, and not to violate Article 4 of the Trademark Law or the latest examination guidelines regarding "bad-faith registrations."
3. 3.3 Business Scope Compliance: If Party A is an enterprise whose business scope includes "trademark agency" or "intellectual property services," it acknowledges and confirms that it may only apply for Class 45, Group 4506; applications beyond this scope shall be at Party A's own risk of non-acceptance or rejection.
4. 3.4 Information Update Obligation: Party A must update contact information, address, or entity qualifications via the Platform within 3 working days of any change. Party A shall bear all consequences arising from failure to receive CNIPA documents or Party B notifications due to untimely updates, including overdue responses, withdrawals, or rejections.
5. 3.5 Fee Payment: Party A shall pay agency service fees and official fees in full and on time as confirmed in the order; Party B reserves the right to suspend or terminate services if payment is not made promptly.

IV. Rights and Obligations of the Platform and Agency

1. 4.1 Platform Obligations: Ensure stable and secure system operation; faithfully transmit Party A's materials and Party B's feedback; implement encrypted storage and access controls for information marked confidential by Party A; treat Party A without discrimination across channels.
2. 4.2 Party B Obligations: Submit applications to CNIPA within 3 working days after receiving complete materials and fees; promptly forward official documents such as acceptance notices, correction notices, and examination opinions; maintain confidentiality of Party A's trade secrets learned during practice.
3. 4.3 Conflict of Interest Avoidance: Party B shall not simultaneously accept commissions from third parties with direct conflicts of interest regarding Party A's intended trademark; upon discovering a conflict, Party B must immediately notify Party A and negotiate a resolution.
4. 4.4 Prohibition of Guarantees: Neither the Platform nor Party B shall make any express or implied promises or representations regarding registration outcomes, scope of approval, market value, or stability of rights using phrases such as "guaranteed pass," "internal channels," or similar language.

V. System Synchronization Failure and Liability Limitation

1. 5.1 Definition of Synchronization Failure: "System synchronization anomaly" refers to cases where Party A's submitted application materials fail to sync successfully to the CNIPA agency system due to non-Party A causes such as Platform technical failures, interface timeouts, or data parsing errors.
2. 5.2 Exclusive Remedies: In the event of such anomalies, Party A may choose only one of the following remedies, and such choice shall be final:
   • (1) Full refund of paid order amount plus liquidated damages equal to 30% of the actual transaction amount; or
   • (2) Free re-submission by Party B within 3 working days, with the original filing date deferred to the new submission date.
3. 5.3 Liability Exclusion: Beyond the refund + compensation or re-submission stipulated above, neither the Platform nor Party B shall be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including but not limited to loss of expected profits, reputational harm, lost market opportunities, or third-party claims. Party A acknowledges that trademark registration outcomes are affected by multiple uncontrollable factors and that no causal assessment model can be established for a single commission; therefore, Party A waives any claims beyond the scope of this clause.

VI. Service Suitability and User Qualification Statement

1. 6.1 Professional Threshold Notice: This system is designed as a technical tool for professional agents familiar with trademark application procedures and the Trademark Law, or applicants with equivalent knowledge levels.
2. 6.2 Assumption of Risk for Knowledge Gaps: If Party A has knowledge gaps in core areas such as trademark classification, distinctiveness assessment, prior rights search, or evidence of use standards, it is strongly recommended to consult a certified trademark attorney or IP lawyer before proceeding. If Party A proceeds despite lacking professional competence, Party A shall bear all consequences including rejection, opposition, invalidation, or defective rights. The Platform and Party B assume no professional guidance obligations or fault liability merely by providing technical tools.
3. 6.3 Non-Consumer Service Classification: Services under this Agreement do not fall within the scope of ordinary consumer services regulated by consumer protection laws; Party A shall not claim punitive damages or contract rescission on grounds of "information asymmetry," "invalid standard terms," or "failure to inform."
4. 6.4 Privacy Protection: The Platform and Party B collect only personal and corporate information necessary for trademark processing; cross-border transfers, if applicable, are protected by contractual security measures.
5. 6.5 Exercise of Rights: Party A may lawfully access, copy, correct, or delete personal information; application archives, payment records, and administrative documents within statutory retention periods will be deleted or anonymized upon expiration.

VII. Account Cancellation and Service Continuity

1. 7.1 Cancellation Path: Party A may request account cancellation via "My Account → Settings → Cancel Account" or by contacting customer service.
2. 7.2 Service Continuity: Account cancellation does not affect pending trademark applications; Party B will continue fulfilling contractual obligations for such cases until conclusion.
3. 7.3 Consequences: After cancellation, Party A will no longer receive notifications, download files, or initiate new commissions via the Platform; to continue following pending cases, Party A must provide alternative contact information and re-establish communication with Party B.

VIII. Electronic Signatures and Evidentiary Effect

1. 8.1 Validity of E-Contracts: Actions completed by Party A on the Platform, including checkbox confirmations, SMS verification, facial recognition, or digital certificate signing, carry the same legal effect as handwritten signatures or seals.
2. 8.2 Data Preservation: The Platform uses trusted timestamps and blockchain notarization to solidify agreement signing processes, material submission records, payment flows, and key operation logs, which may serve as valid electronic evidence in judicial or administrative proceedings.

IX. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

1. 9.1 Negotiation First: Disputes arising from or related to this Agreement shall first be resolved through friendly negotiation.
2. 9.2 Jurisdiction: If negotiation fails, any party may file suit with the competent people's court at the location of the Platform's operating entity (Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province).
3. 9.3 Governing Law: This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of mainland China.

Addendum A: Technical Specifications for Trademark Specimens

1. A.1 File Format and Size: Trademark specimens must be in JPG format with file size strictly under 200KB; pixel dimensions must be between 400×400 and 1500×1500 to ensure clarity.
2. A.2 Scanned Specimen Standards: Scanned specimens must be produced at 24-bit color, RGB mode, and 300 DPI resolution; scanned image dimensions must be greater than 5×5 cm and less than 10×10 cm, meeting clarity requirements under trademark laws.
3. A.3 Color Consistency Obligation: The applicant (or agent) must ensure scanned images match the original in color depth or grayscale. The applicant bears all consequences if color deviations result in poor display quality or insufficient clarity on the Trademark Registration Certificate.
4. A.4 Compatibility Handling: JPG files must open normally in IE 8.0 or later browsers. If compatibility issues cause submission failures, it is recommended to reopen and re-save the file using Microsoft Paint before uploading.
5. A.5 Safe Margin Reservation: When designing or cropping specimens, reserve no less than 3mm blank space on all sides to prevent trimming damage during gazette publication or certificate printing.
6. A.6 Prohibition of Redundant Elements: Do not add border lines, decorative lines, or non-trademark elements to specimens. The applicant bears all risks of examination delays resulting from correction requests due to non-compliant specimens.

Addendum B: Text-to-Specimen Generator Disclaimer

1. B.1 Functional Nature: The "Text-to-Specimen" feature programmatically stylizes user-input text using preset open-source fonts, supporting basic font selection, weight adjustment, and layout direction. This feature is solely a display and reference tool, not a custom design service.
2. B.2 Originality and Distinctiveness Disclaimer: The Platform does not guarantee that generated specimens possess originality, uniqueness, or distinctiveness, nor does it guarantee freedom from conflict with prior rights or automatic compliance with registration, use, or licensing requirements.
3. B.3 No Recommendation or Guarantee: The Platform does not expressly or implicitly require users to generate specimens via this tool, nor does it recommend, promise, or guarantee any specimen solution. Users must independently select, modify, and finalize specimens.
4. B.4 Attribution of Liability: Users bear full legal responsibility for submitted specimens. The Platform assumes no direct or joint liability for rejections, oppositions, invalidations, or infringement disputes arising from use of text-generated specimens.
5. B.5 Intellectual Property Statement: The Platform claims no copyright, neighboring rights, or other IP rights over specimens generated via this tool; rights vest according to font license agreements and user creative acts under applicable law.
6. B.6 Recommendation for Independent Design: Users are strongly advised to commission professional designers or use licensed design software to create original trademark specimens to ensure distinctiveness and legal safety. The Platform's generator is intended only for emergency or inspirational reference.

Addendum C: Preset Open-Source Fonts and Official Download Links

All built-in fonts are commercially usable open-source fonts. Below are official descriptions and download links. Users may visit official channels for complete font families:

Important Notice: Built-in font versions may lag behind official releases. Users must verify the latest license terms via official links before commercial use; users bear all risks of infringement arising from font license changes.

X. Miscellaneous

1. 10.1 Effective Date: This Agreement takes effect upon Party A's online confirmation and remains valid until conclusion of the trademark case and fulfillment of all statutory obligations.
2. 10.2 Amendments: The Platform may revise this Agreement due to legal updates or business adjustments; revised versions will be published on the website/app. Continued use constitutes acceptance.
3. 10.3 Entire Agreement: This Agreement supersedes all prior oral or written agreements on the same subject matter; matters not covered herein shall be governed by the Trademark Law, Civil Code, and latest regulations.

Party A (Applicant):
Unified Social Credit Code / ID No.:
Date of Signature:

The Platform (Tech Service Provider):
Filed Agency (Party B):
Agency Filing No.: