论抢注商标强制移转制度的构建——兼评《中华人民共和国商标法修订草案(征求意见稿)》的相关规定

On the construction of the compulsory transfer system forpreemptive registration of trademarks:Comment on the relevant provisions of the Draft Amendment to theTrademark Law of the People’s Republic ofChina (Draft for Comments)

为打击恶意抢注,维护正常的商标市场秩序,《中华人民共和国商标法修订草案(征求意见稿)》引入《保护工业产权巴黎公约》中的抢注商标强制移转制度。抢注商标强制移转制度赋予被抢注人请求国家知识产权行政部门将已经注册的商标转让给自己的权利,实质上将“商标异议或无效”和“申请商标注册”并为一步走,不仅有助于保障被抢注人合法权益、降低注册成本以及节约行政审查资源,还有效弥补现有恶意商标抢注规制体系的不足,维护了商标注册管理秩序。实际上,我国司法实践中早已出现要求抢注人移转注册商标的先例,域外立法中有关抢注商标强制移转制度的规定也为我国构建该制度提供了参考。故而,抢注商标强制移转制度的引入具备一定的合理性、必要性和可行性。但整体来看,有关抢注商标强制移转制度的规范设计仍略显粗糙。为增强该制度的可操作性,应从以下三个方面完善:其一,在程序设置上,鉴于抢注商标强制移转制度与无效宣告制度在效力原则、设立目的、审查内容等方面均存在不同,故有必要单独设立抢注商标强制移转制度;其二,在移转时间上,明确被抢注人强制移转请求权的期限,且与申请无效宣告的时间保持一致,均为五年;其三,在适用范围上,扩大抢注商标强制移转的适用情形,将恶意抢注近似商标行为纳入适用范围。

To combat malicious trademark registration and maintain order in the trademark market,the Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China(Draft for Comments)proposes a compulsory transfer system for trademarks registered in bad faith,inspired by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.This system allows the rightful trademark owner to request the national intellectual property administrative department to transfer the maliciously registered trademark to them.It merges the processes of“trademark opposition or invalidation”and“application for trademark registration”,thereby protecting legitimate trademark owners’rights,reducing registration costs,saving administrative resources,and addressing deficiencies in the current system.Precedents in China’s judicial practice have required registrants to transfer trademarks,and similar foreign legislation provides useful references for this system’s construction in China.Thus,the introduction of this system is reasonable,necessary,and feasible.However,its current design needs refinement.To improve its operability,the system should be enhanced in three key areas:firstly,in terms of procedural settings,considering the differences in effectiveness principles,establishment purposes,and examination contents between the compulsory transfer system for registered trademarks and the invalidation declaration system,it is necessary to establish a separate compulsory transfer system for registered trademarks.Secondly,in terms of transfer time,it is clear that the deadline for the forced transfer request right of the registered person is consistent with the time of invalidation of the application,both of which are five years.Thirdly,in terms of scope of application,circumstances should be expanded under which compulsory transfer can be applied,including cases of malicious registration of similar trademarks.