Opinion letters are the written analysis provided by a trademark attorney. It is now common practice for media distributors and insurers to require producers to provide a title and trademark search report and legal opinion in addition to other production deliverables. 

There are two kinds of trademark legal opinion in China. One is the external legal opinion whether a trademark is still available, and the second is whether a trademark infringes another registered trademark in China.

Trademark availability search and opinions

Once you select a name or shortlist of name finalists, even though a name cleared a trademark screening using the China trademark office database, the name may still not be legally available, thus requiring a Trademark Legal Review and Opinion. This process will eliminate final name candidates that would likely be rejected when applying for a trademark. Therefore, trademark legal review and opinion should be completed prior to trademark registration, or you may risk rejection and forfeit application fees. 

With trademark legal search and opinions completed, you can confidently select your final name, and complete the Trademark Registration process. Our trademark lawyer will prepare and submit your trademark application electronically, at the standard fees charged by the China trademark office. Our Trademark registration services include: 

•  Legal review using national and international databases
•  Written legal opinions of trademarks regarding potential trademark conflicts
•  Trademark opinion summary report and recommendations
•  Trademark registration application completion
•  Communication of registration results

Non-infringement legal opinion

If you have received a Cease and Desist Letter, lawsuit, or other challenge to your trademark or domain name rights or if you are considering the same against another and would like to know your rights vis-a-vis the challenge presented before deciding upon a strategy to protect or defend your trademark our Opinion Letter Package is the right option for you.

We help our clients avoid the costly expense of wasted time and resources committed to developing and manufacturing new products that may infringe upon an existing patent. An infringement opinion is a useful tool that helps protect innovators by researching and evaluating products or services that are similar to the client’s and determining and providing a recommendation to either proceed as planned or make changes in order to avoid willful infringement.

We have access to national and international resources for conducting infringement and validity searches in order to assure that the most relevant pieces of information are identified, analyzed, and considered in the process of drafting our opinions. These opinions are helpful insurance policies against the possible future litigation, as they demonstrate that innovators have made every possible effort to avoid infringing on an existing patent.

Dealing with Negativity

Many clients do not want to receive a negative opinion in writing. If there is room for disagreement about a referenced mark or two and the client proceeds with the adoption and use of the candidate mark, the written negative opinion, if produced in litigation, could unfairly prejudice the client. On the other hand, some legal departments may want a carefully crafted negative opinion to convince a marketing department that the candidate mark should not be adopted.

Before drafting the opinion, counsel should discuss with the client the implications of putting a negative opinion in writing and learn the client's preference when there are negative results to report and about receiving written opinions in general. 

Trademark Opinion Letter Package:

•  A detailed review of the allegations against your or a suspected infringing trademark or domain name;
•  Due diligence research to determine the respective rights of the parties and any available claims and defenses the parties to an action may have; and
•  An opinion letter summarizing the allegations set forth, our research, and our opinions as to your rights or potential liability and any defenses to the allegations you may have or allege.

So if you are ready to determine what your rights are order our Opinion Letter Package today.