Paragraph 1 of Article 14 of the Company Law states: "A company may set up branches. The establishment of a branch company shall apply to the company registration authority for registration and obtain a business license. The branch does not have legal person status, and its civil liability shall be borne by the company. "

article 52 of the judicial interpretation of the civil procedure law: other organizations stipulated in article 48 of the civil procedure law refer to organizations that are legally established, have certain organizational structures and property, but do not have the qualifications of legal persons, including: (5) branches of legal persons established according to law and obtaining business licenses;

first, let's take a look at the relevant laws and regulations of the branch. According to the provisions of the above-mentioned laws and judicial interpretations, the branch does not have independent personality, but it has the qualification of litigation subject. This characteristic of the branch company brings some difficulties to answer this question.

let's answer the question later, that is, can a branch directly use the trademark of the head office without the authorization of the head office?

China's trademark law stipulates that using a trademark without the permission of the trademark registrant is an infringement. However, it does not specify what "civil subject" constitutes infringement without permission, and it does not specify whether branches are included. Therefore, it is a bit difficult to answer "whether the branch can directly use the trademark of the head office".

then analyze the problem from the opposite side, that is, if the branch company directly uses the trademark of the head office without authorization, can the head office sue the branch company to stop using it?

respondents think it is difficult. Because according to the law, the personality of a branch company is attached to the head office, although the branch company can become the subject of litigation, its ultimate civil liability is borne by the head office. In judicial practice, in civil cases where the branch company is the defendant, the head office can be added as the defendant, which will cause the situation that the head office is both the plaintiff and the defendant.

in addition, according to article 2 of the civil code, the civil law is to adjust the personal relationship and property relationship between equal subjects, while the branch company and the head office do not have equal status and are not within the scope of civil litigation of the people's court.

article 2 of the civil code? Civil law regulates the personal relations and property relations among natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations as equal subjects.

Therefore, there is no legal obstacle for a branch company to directly use the trademark of the head office. In fact, the branch company here is more similar to a department of the head office, such as the sales department, which can naturally use the trademark of the head office.

but the problem is, the head office just doesn't want the branch company to use its trademark, and the branch company just "disobeys orders" and uses the trademark. What should we do? It can be completely solved through the internal procedures of the head office. If the person in charge of the branch is "disobedient", the person in charge will be changed, and if the branch is "disobedient", the branch will be revoked.