A Preliminary Inquiry Into China's Trademark Reverse Passing Off

Trademark reverse passing off means the reverse operation of counterfeit trademark literally. Trademark counterfeiting refers to the act of passing one's own commodities off as another person's; however, trademark reverse passing off pretends other people's commodities to be its own for sale. Compared with the former, the latter is more complicated and concealed.This paper consists of three chapters that will research and analyze trademark reverse passing off from the aspect of connotation defining, nature, the present situation and improvements of legislation.The first chapter dealing with the prescription of trademark reverse passing off can be divided into three sections. Section One introduces the meaning of trademark reverse passing off. First, the author will introduce the well-known trademark rights infringement dispute in which"the maple leaf sued the crocodile". It caused the legal scientific and practical fields'attention to the emergence of trademark reverse passing off in China. Second, the author will define the profound term of trademark reverse passing off in simple language, namely:"trademark reverse passing off"refers to the illegal act of changing or removing others'registered trademarks without permission and putting in others'commodities to the market. Section Two classifies the act of trademark reverse passing off according to different criteria. First, trademark reverse passing off can be divided into the visualized and recessive forms as regard to the different mode of counterfeiting. Such classification can help us recognize the act mode of trademark reverse passing off and improve our country's legislation. Second, three different types of trademark reverse passing off can be classified according to the purpose of counterfeiting. 1. Reverse counterfeit product is of a well-known trademark. A new enterprise, whose commodities are not noted but have achieved the certain level is reversely passed off. 2. A new enterprise, whose unknown product is of the average quality, commits trademark reverse passing off. And the reversely counterfeit product is generally celebrated. 3. A reverse counterfeit product and the original one are similar in quality and reputation, but the latter enjoys much lower production cost. Such classification can enable people to understand the subjective intention of those who commit trademark reverse passing off and evaluate relevant damages. Consequently, it will help people identify the nature of tort. Section three concentrates on the three important conditions of committing trademark reverse passing off. 1. The infringer passes the trademark possessor's commodities off as his own. 2. The infringer removes or changes the registered trademark of the...