Trademark Pledge

The pledge of trademark means using the right of trademark to hypothecate the debt, the creditor is entitled to have pledge on the value of trademark when the debtor can not fulfill the debt. The pledge of trademark is an increasingly important intangible assets guarantee way in the knowledge-based economy of modern society. Comparing with the security of traditional tangible property, the pledge of trademark plays an important role for high-tech enterprises and small enterprises which have independent intellectual property rights and lack large real estate , because it has many merits such as non-transfer of the subject, a subject of great value, rich resources. The pledge of trademark has been the popular guarantee way in economical developed country. Moreover, in China the pledge of trademark is still in the initial stage, although the Real Right Law, the Security Law and Administrative Regulations have provided the basic rules, but such laws are too broad and mutually conflicting, so it is difficult to create a specific operation in practice. Researchers have not done enough work on the problems that arise in practice, which is of great theoretical and practical value in our country.This paper uses the method of comparative Law, value analysis method and empirical approach to compare systems of trademark pledge between developed countries and china, which can help china improve its legal system. There are four parts in this paper discussing theoretical base, value and so on of pledge of trademark.The first part of this paper demonstrates the theoretical foundation and legislative rules in the field that trademark right is considered as property right, concluding that trademark can hypothecate the debts. The reasons are as follows, the trademark right is transferable property right, the trademark right is property right except ownership, and the trademark hypothecating the debts is allowed by law. The second part discusses the value of trademark pledge from legal and practical aspect, such as order, justice, security, secured, financing and effectiveness and so on. Especially in practice level, trademark pledge has great significance in improving the trademark owner's awareness of trademark right, improving SME's external financing environment and promoting enterprise's technology superiority into market advantage.The third part illustrates the law of trademark pledge in civil law and common law countries and in EU. According to China's national condition, China can learn from them in such areas, registration of trademark pledge, trademark right and other rights packaged together to hypothecate the debts, establishing a domestic unified market and so on.The forth part proposes a concrete way to perfect our trademark pledge system based on analyzing our country's present situation and pointing out its vital significance on perfecting guarantee system in china, such as alleviating mid- and small-scale enterprise's financing difficulties, impelling the enterprise's independent innovation, and developing china's intellectual property rights strategy. Finally, proposed the concrete perfect way, such as perfecting the legal regime, taking road of the demonstration innovation under the current system and introducing asset securitization.In conclusion, trademark pledge is a matter concerned not only to China's many mid- and small-scale enterprises, especially private enterprise's financing difficulties, but also to the development of the banking sector itself, and to the entire guarantee law system. China must perfect the pledge of trademark in the knowledge-based economy society. Only in this way, China can seize dominant position in competing with the developed countries today.