On The Legal Problems Of Coexistence Of Approximate Trademarks

With the development of the market economy and the trend of global integration, the phenomenon of trademark coexistence is becoming common. The trademark coexistence is legal coexistence that similar trademarks are used in the same or similar goods and services by different market players with subjective good faith, without substantial confusion about these goods and services by the relevant public. In the United States and other countries and regions, there’s legislative documentation for the trademark coexistence by signing a trademark agreement based on the first use of the trademark. There is no regulation about trademark coexistence in the trademark law, resulted in the increase of trademark infringement cases and litigation resources waste, unfavorable to the development of market economy in our country. Therefore, it is imminent to establish a legitimate trademark coexistence system. The mature systems of trademark coexistence legislation and judicial practice in other countries provide the models and samples for our country to improve the system of trademark coexistence. On the basis of practical cases and the previous studies, this paper analyzes present situation and causes of trademark coexistence in China. At the same time, the paper provides legal solutions for the protection of the rights, the protection of well-known trademarks, trademark coexistence agreement, etc., more targeted on improving the approximate trademark coexistence entity laws and the theoretical research on this subject in China can be more targeted.This paper contains four chapters besides preface and epilogue, as follo wings:Chapter 1:"Presenting problem of the coexistence of approximate trademark".T his chapter mainly summarizes the concept of approximate trademark coexistence, investigations of the trademark coexistence theory at home and abroad. Analysis from the present situation of coexistence of similar mark, drawing lessons from foreign mature legislation experience, this chapter puts forward the legal countermeasures of perfecting our country’s approximate trademark coexist.Chapter 2:"The preconditions of the approximate trademarks coexisting". T his chapter analyzes component elements of legal protection for the approximate trademarks coexistence in reference to the judicial practice in the real case, the coexistence of approximation, a trademark development history.Chapter 3:"The analysis present situation and the cause of the coexistence of approximate trademark in China". This chapter studies the well-known trademark pro tection, prior right protection and discrimination method of similar trademarks to research the cause of approximate trademark coexistence through the specific analysis the cause of the current situation of coexistence and approximate trademark in China. Chapter 4:"Legal countermeasures of perfecting approximate trademark coexistence in our country". Aiming at the problem of coexistence of trademark in our country, this chapter presents the feasible solution to perfect the legal system of approximate trademarks coexistence, through studying the reality in our country’s trademark use, drawing lessons from the reasonable settlement mechanism of trademark conflict in other countries.