Follow-up to the 15,000 trademark explosion: the brand may be blacklisted, and a large number of sellers cannot register!

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It is learned that from 0:00 to 24:00 on April 6, Shanghai had 322 new confirmed cases of local COVID-19 and 19,660 asymptomatic infections. The Shanghai lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end on April 5, was announced to be extended, causing far greater disruption to the global supply chain than expected.

At the same time, Ningbo Port, an important alternative export port in the Yangtze River Delta, has also seen outbreaks since April 3. As of April 6, a total of six freight drivers and highway service area staff have been infected with the coronavirus.

It is not difficult to predict that the logistics supply chain transportation related to Shanghai and Ningbo Port will inevitably be affected by the epidemic blockade, and efficiency will decline.

In addition to logistics-related issues, sellers have also been concerned about brand account issues recently.

With the frequent occurrence of infringement and malicious follow-up sales, more and more sellers have realized the importance of brand registration. However, it is learned that some sellers recently reported that their accounts were affected by the 15,000 trademark withdrawal incident at the end of last year, and their brands have not been able to be registered so far.

Follow-up to the collapse of 15,000 trademarks: New brands cannot be registered either

It is learned that at the end of 2021, a Shenzhen intellectual property company was issued a sanctions order by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for allegedly submitting trademark applications in the name of a practicing lawyer in the United States. More than 15,000 U.S. trademarks it represented were revoked, affecting a large number of sellers. The resulting business losses are immeasurable, triggering heated discussions in the cross-border circle.

▲ List of some revoked trademarks

To this day, the impact of this incident is far from over.

Recently, a seller on the forum reported that after 15,000 brand trademarks were exposed last year, when the seller applied for brand registration, they were prompted with "brand abuse" and could not register. Even if a new brand was registered recently, the brand registration was still not completed.

Therefore, the seller suspected that the accounts affected by the 15,000 trademark withdrawal incident last year may have been blacklisted by Amazon.

▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan

We also learned that the seller's situation is not an isolated case, and many sellers have reported encountering the same situation:

"The company has two sets of accounts with the same problem, and I can't see where I can file a complaint."

"There is a high probability that both the store and the brand will be marked by Amazon, and re-registering a clean trademark will also fail in the store filing."

"Using the original brand to register on the secondary account and then authorizing it to the original store resulted in the secondary store's brand permissions being directly blocked, and there was no way to appeal."

Some sellers also suggested that the most convenient way to deal with this situation is to re-register a new account and then register the brand.

It can be seen that the impact of the withdrawal of 15,000 trademarks at the end of last year, which resulted in the inability to register brands, has really caused headaches for sellers. Up to now, there is no definite and effective solution.

We would also like to remind all sellers that when applying for overseas trademarks, do not be too concerned about the price, as you may lose the big picture for the small. You must choose a formal agency and make a judgment after fully understanding the company's situation to avoid similar trademark incidents.

In addition, it was also learned that unlike the recent situation where sellers are struggling with logistics obstructions, brand registration and other issues, there have been recent reports that SHEIN, a leading Chinese cross-border fashion e-commerce company, is planning a new round of financing.

Planning a new round of financing: SHEIN strives for a valuation of US$100 billion!

It is learned that recently, according to foreign media reports, China's cross-border fashion e-commerce SHEIN is planning a new round of financing with a target valuation of approximately US$100 billion.

▲ Image from Bloomberg

It is reported that SHEIN is currently negotiating with some potential investors including General Atlantic, and the new round of financing will raise about US$1 billion. After this round of fundraising, its valuation may reach US$100 billion, which will exceed the combined valuation of famous European and American fast fashion brands H&M and Zara, becoming the world's third largest unicorn company.

▲ Image from Bloomberg

In response to this, SHEIN also responded, saying that it "will not comment on market rumors."

Compared with the flat denial of the news of "listing in the United States", SHEIN's response this time seems to "leave room for maneuver."

It is also understood that since the transaction has not yet been completed, SHEIN's valuation scale may still change. If the valuation of $100 billion can be finalized, SHEIN will become the most valuable startup in the world after TikTok and Space X.

Looking at SHEIN's development history, the changes in global consumer shopping habits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years and China's strong supply chain system are major reasons for SHEIN's profitability.

In recent years, my country has attached great importance to the development of new trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce, and regarded new formats such as cross-border e-commerce as the vital force for the development of my country's foreign trade. It has introduced a number of supporting policies and created a golden age for cross-border sellers to go overseas.

We also hope that under the tide of cross-border e-commerce, with the support of China's comparative advantages such as continuous policies and strong supply chain, more "SHEIN" will appear in the future.

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