Research On The Passive Use Of Trademarks

Just like the names of natural person, although by holders to enjoy, the purpose of trademarks is use, bringing convenience for others and ourselves. There is no doubt that the trademark owners have certain ownerships of the marks, but if the logos can only be used by the owners,they do lose their significance.As a form of trademark use behavior, passive use behavior should have its corresponding legal effect like active use behavior. I believe traditional sense of trademarks use is not comprehensive because it only concludes the behavior conducted by production operators. Since all those behaviors which can make trademarks effective can be called use,the public use of the trademarks should be classified to the scope of use of the trademarks,too. In fact, from the point of view of the function and essence of the trademarks, the consumers’participation is of crucial or even the core in the process of realization of the trademark features,it would become meaningless without this process in trademark use.A large number of scholars and literatures have been engaged in the research of active use--the traditional concept of use. However, the effectiveness of the passive use are seldom mentioned. I believe that the public passive use of trademarks should be given its corresponding effectiveness.The paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter is an overview of the of the passive use of trademarks. And by re-understanding of the concept of trademarks right, patent rights, copyrights c lead to the particularity of trademark rights which lead to the concept of passive use.And then the passive use is divided into the pre-existing trademark passive use passive behavior and the none-existingof trademarks use behavior.The second chapter discusses the practical significance of the concept of two kinds of passive behaviors. The significance of the passive use of the pre-existing trademark behavior is,it can be explain trademark use behavior from a more fundamental perspective. The significance of passive use of non-existde trademarks is to find a legal basis for the practical cases.Chapter three discusses the legitimacy of in use concept. The problem is investigated from five different angles:the angle of the trademark essence, the angle of the concept of trademark use, the angle of trademark protection, the angle of legislative purpose of Trademark Law and the angle of property rights theory.On the basis of the background mentioned in former chapters,in chapter four, the author analyzes attitude of passive use in China and abroad. Then author appeals to given independent effectiveness of passive use and to recognize its central position in the use of the trademarks.