正在发生的革命:商标保护与公共健康博弈中的香烟平装立法

Ongoing Revolution:Tobacco Plain Packaging Legislation in the Conflict of Trademark Protection and Public Health

随着控烟运动的全球化发展,越来越多的国家考虑通过香烟平装立法进行控烟。虽然香烟平装对公众健康有利,但受到各方面尤其是来自于烟草产业和知识产权组织的反对。即便如此,澳大利亚的香烟平装法于2012年12月开始实施,欧盟和其他国家的香烟平装立法也正在积极进行中。在香烟平装立法的进程中,可以发现,在知识产权(尤其是商标权)生发的商业利益与公众健康的博弈中,知识产权法被认为具有服务公共政策的功能,权利所有者的私人利益应让位于公众利益。与此同时,为了促进公共健康,以香烟平装为起点,标准化包装扩展到其他产业的可能性非常大。

With the global development of the tobacco control,a growing number of countries are considering plain packaging as a new control tool.Despite the benefits of plain packaging for public health,tobacco industries and intellectual property organizations are particularly keen on emphasizing the uselessness of plain packaging and its incompatibility with trademark provisions of international treaties. In spite of all these resistance,Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Act was put into force in December, 2012.The European Union and some other countries are taking stronger measures to introduce plain packaging.In the process of tobacco plain packaging legislation,the intellectual property law is regarded to serve public policy in the conflict of the public health and the business interest derived from the intellectual property, especially the trademarks. Meanwhile, tobacco plain packaging could set a precedent for other industries;similar practices may be extended to other sectors.