Shanghai Chumeng Education Technology Co., Ltd. (Applicant) sought to register “初心” No. 44867663 for use on services in class 45 and the China Trademark Office (CTMO) refused the application on the grounds of likelihood of confusion and ill effects. The Applicant appealed and submitted letter of consent by the registrants of the cited marks. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) recognized the letter of consent as a justification for the co-existence of the applied-for mark and the cited marks, while affirmed the refusal on the grounds of ill effects.
“初心” means “original intention” or “original aspiration” and was a phrase that first appeared in a work of Bai Juyi, a renowned poet of the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The original meaning of this phrase was neutral, and I do not see any reason that it should be deemed to have ill effects. However, this phrase has been frequently quoted by President Xi as of October 31, 2017, when he delivered a speech after a visit at Nanhu Lake Revolution Museum in Jiaxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province. After that, “stay[ing] true to our original aspiration and founding mission” has been quoted in several other speeches of Xi and become a very well-known phrase in the political context.
事业发展永无止境，共产党人的初心永远不能改变。唯有不忘初心，方可告慰历史、告慰先辈，方可赢得民心、赢得时代，方可善作善成、一往无前。
As our cause progresses, no Chinese Communist should ever forget our original aspiration. This is the only way to honor history and our predecessors, to win popular support and uphold the call of the era, and to accomplish our deeds with indomitable will.
I believe that political factors should not be overweighed in the process of trademark examination while they should be duly considered. As for this case, I partially agree with the TRAB that the applied-for mark should not be approved for registration. To begin with, the Applicant was established on May 24, 2018, long after the phrase become a widely known political term. The applicant should know or should have known that “初心” has deviated from its original usage but has been endowed with a particular connotation. It is much likely that it applied for registration for this phrase with an intent of “newsjacking”. In addition, if approved for registration, the applied-for mark will help the Applicant to improperly gain advantages over others to promote or advertise its product or brand. After “初心” becomes a heated topic, it should not be monopolized by a particular individual or entity by registering it as a trademark, which goes against the principle of justice and fairness.
Therefore, I recommend great caution if you plan to choose a term of this kind as your trademark or trade name. Anyway, if you are really into it and do not want to abandon it, consider refiling the application after some time, maybe after a few years when the consuming public will no longer associate the term with a certain political connotation.