商标通用性的数字证成

Prove “Genericness” of Trademark with Figures

显著性是商标获得法律保护的基础,因此通用名称不能获得商标权保护。在美国商标司法中,消费者调查实验的THERMOS模型和TEFLON模型经常被用于商标通用性问题的认定。调查实验方法的引入有助于标识显著性的科学测度,进而实现权利配置的精细安排。这种方法之所以可信,是因为它符合法官在有限理性和不确定性状态下做出裁判的决策策略,同时司法过程的程序理性构筑了一个知识的竞争市场,保证了进入法庭的调查实验信息的质量。调查实验方法的运用是实现商标司法数目字管理的一种尝试。

A mark should be distinctive before it establishes a trademark right; therefore generic terms should not be protected as trademarks. The Thermos Format and Teflon Format of consumer surveys have routinely been used in the United States to show genericness of a name. They are helpful in scientifically measuring the significance of a mark, thus enabling the judges to mete out remedies more accurately. Admitting trademark surveys into trial is a wise practice because it is in accord with the choice strategy which judges use when they make judgments under the condition of limited reason and uncertainty. Besides, legal procedures establish an effective competitive market for knowledge, ensuring the quality of survey information that is introduced into the judicial process. In a word, survey evidence is a possible way of proving trademark issues with figures.