内外苦权衡:北洋政府商标局对“味精”商标纠纷的裁判

"Difficult Balance":A Perspective of Trademark Bureau's Judgment on the"Vi Tsing"Trademark Dispute Case during the Period of Beiyang Government

1923年,农商部商标局成立后不久,天厨味精厂与日本铃木商社即因“味精”商标注册产生纠纷。商标局起初偏袒日商的裁决在社会上引起广泛争议,后又不得不重新做出对华商有利的裁决。本文对这一案件进行细致剖析,发现商标局前后裁判结果的不同实际折射出该局在内外压力下的种种权衡。在特殊的政治和社会环境下,商标局不仅面临外国政府和商人对新《商标法》和商标局的反对,以及自身经费短缺等问题,同时法律制度不健全导致商标局对案件裁判依据不足,而强烈的社会舆论也成为商标局在裁案中必须回应的因素。商标局裁判结果的最终转变反映出北洋政府时期民族企业权利意识的增强及工商业团体和社会媒体作用的提升,也展现出北洋政府顺应时代潮流,促进民族工商业发展的一面。

Shortly after the establishment of the Trademark Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce in 1923,Tianchu Company and Suzuki Company disputed over the registration of"Vi Tsing"trademark.The Trade-mark Bureau initially made a ruling in favor of the Japanese company,which caused widespread controversy in the so-ciety,and then had to re-rule in favor of the Chinese.This paper makes a detailed analysis of this case and finds that the different results of the judgment reflected various trade-offs of the Trademark Bureau under internal and external pressure.In the special political and social environment,the Trademark Bureau faced foreign governments and busi-nessmen who opposed the Trademark Law and the Trademark Bureau,as well as the shortage of funds.Meanwhile,the imperfect legal system led to an insufficient basis for adjudication of the case,and the strong public opinion also became a factor that the Trademark Bureau must respond to in adjudicating cases.The final change of the judgment results of the Trademark Bureau reflected the enhancement of the awareness of the rights of national enterprises,the advancement of the role of industrial and commercial groups,and social media in the period of the Beiyang Govern-ment.At the same time,it also showed the Beiyang Government conformed to the trend of the times and promoted the development of national enterprises.