商标共存法律制度研究

On the Legal System of Trademark Coexistence

出于在先善意使用,地域、历史等原因造成的各自的既定的市场格局,或者是协议约定的共存,商标共存已成为较为常见的客观现象。商标共存倾向于保护商标所有人的私权利益,与消费者利益与公共利益的保护,存在价值冲突。当前我国对商标共存的规范不足,审查标准及司法裁判尺度并不统一、存在较大的自由裁量空间,商标共存协议的认定标准亟待明确。在未违反国家强制性规定前提下,市场主体以自由意志作出的权利处分决定,在兼顾消费者和公共利益同时,审查或司法机关应给予更多尊重。从而尽可能地既利用商标共存的优势、又避免其缺陷,促进商标制度健康发展。建议通过明确商标共存与混淆的关系、细化共存协议的审查标准、以及设立商标共存备案公示机制来探索完善商标共存制度。

Due to prior bona fide use,geographical and historical reasons resulting in respective established market patterns,or coexistence agreed upon by contracts,trademark coexistence has become a relatively common objective phenomenon.Trademark coexistence tends to protect the private rights and interests of trademark owners,but there exists a value conflict with the protection of consumer interests and public interests.Currently,China lacks sufficient regulations on trade-mark coexistence,and the review standards and judicial decision-making scales are not uniform,leaving significant discretionary space.The identification standards for trademark coexistence agreements urgently need to be clarified.Under the premise of not violating national mandatory regulations,decisions made by market entities based on their own free will should be given more respect by the examining or judicial authorities while considering consumer and public interests.This approach aims to maximize the advantages of trademark coexistence while avoiding its draw-backs,thereby promoting the healthy development of the trademark system.It is recommended to explore ways to improve the trademark coexistence system by clarifying the relationship between coexistence and confusion,refining the examination standards for coexistence agreements,and establishing a trademark coexistence recordal and public notice mechanism.Copyright©2024 by author(s)and Hans Publishers Inc.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License(CC BY 4.0).