CISG中卖方知识产权担保责任探究

Research on the Warranty for the Seller's Intellectual Property Rights in CISG

《联合国国际货物销售合同公约》第42条规定了国际贸易中卖方应承担的知识产权担保责任,中国学界尚未对其进行深入探讨。结合该公约第42条的规定,本文首先对知识产权担保责任的内涵进行了界定,提出并论述了卖方承担知识产权担保责任的前提,即"第三方对货物基于知识产权而拥有权利和要求"、"第三方提出的权利和要求仅限于特定的国家"和"卖方知情"。在"买方知情"和"遵从买方指示"的情况下可以免除卖方担保责任。中国企业可以在国际贸易中加入"由买方承担查询义务"的合同条款规避知识产权风险。

Article 42 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods （1980） （CISG） provides that the seller is liable to the buyer for the infringement of industrial or other intellectual property rights of a third party. Such liability receives so far little attention from scholars in China. In conjunction with Article 42 paragraph of CISG, this article first defines the scope of the seller＇s liability for infringement of industrial or other intellectual property rights and articulates the conditions, under which such liability is due, which includes： （i） it involves a right or claim of a third party based on industrial property or other intellectual property; （ii） the right or claim alleged by a third party is valid in a particular state; and （iii） the awareness of the seller. The seller can be exempted from the liability for infringement of industrial or other intellectual property rights on the ground of ＂awareness on the side of the buyer＂ or ＂compliance to the buyer＇s instruction＂ . Chinese enterprises can effectively avoid intellectual property risks in international trade and business by adding a clause in the contract like ＂the buyer shall bear the responsibility of inquiring＂ .