重塑侵害商标权的认定标准

Reconfiguration of the Criteria for Trademark Infringement

现代商标制度把"混淆标准"与"淡化标准"作为认定侵害商标权的标准,两个标准并置导致了商标法侵权理论的混乱。"混淆标准"预设了商标法的消费者中心主义,并把理性消费者作为判定侵权的主体。现代技术塑造了商标对消费者的符号暴力,理性消费者的缺失使"混淆标准"丧失了依据。消费者受益是商标法保护商标权人的结果,而不是目的。商标法应以对商标所有人的保护作为第一要旨。商标所有人中心主义抑或消费者中心主义导致了对政府监管的不同态度。侵害商标权的认定标准应当以商标权作为考虑的基点,"商标显著性受到损害之虞"可以统合商标法上既有的"混淆标准"与"淡化标准",矫正了既有商标权认定标准的不足,有其自身的优势。

During the current trademark era,confusion and dilution have been considered as the criteria for trademark infringement.However,the parallel of the two has already led to a dilemma in the trademark infringement theory.Consumer orientation is a prerequisite of confusion theory,where the rational consumer is regarded as an essential factor in judging trademark infringement.However,the rational consumer is fading away by virtue of symbolic violence which grows with the rapid development of modern technology.Consumers’ benefit is not the purpose of trademark law,but the outcome of protecting trademark right holders.Trademark law should gain its first priority in protecting trademark owners.Besides,different adoptions of trademark owner-orientation or consumer-orientation can trigger different attitudes towards governmental regulation.In sum,the nature of trademark rights should be the basis of the criteria for trademark infringement,and the likelihood of distinctiveness of a mark stands out with its own advantage in unifying the two mentioned criteria and perfecting the current trademark system.