On The Specific Packaging And Decoration Of The Well-known Commodity

In the first half of2013, Wanglaoji and Jiaduobao brought a lawsuit to fight for the "red can" packaging. Due to its strong repercussion in the society, scholars pointed out that this dispute might be one of the most classical cases applicable to the legal research.The legal protection of well-known commodity again became a focus of our entire community. Nonetheless, in fact, this protection system is constantly causing disputes and being criticized because some basic problems such as the criterion of judgment and the attribution of the rights are still to be settled in the legal practice. This research will address the problems of the protection system of well-known commodity, interpret its implication to further practices in trades, and furthermore, provide my academic views on the development of this legal protection system.This research consists of5parts. As an initial matter, the definition of the packaging and decoration of well-known commodity is amorphous to some extent. In spite of variations and disagreements regarding the definition of "well-known", this article will find a general meaning accepted by the community. After making its definition clear, we have to explore the basic legal issues that the packaging and decoration of well-known commodity will face. After that, this research will address the legal foundation such as its legal nature and its difference between other intellectual property rights. Then this article will also compare some international legal system on this issue such as Model Law for Developing Countries on Marks Trade Names and Acts of Unfair Competition, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, as well as relevant laws of Germany, the U.S, Japan, etc. With regard to the development trend of the packaging and decoration of well-known commodity, this article will address whether we should adopt the new conception of "trade dress" in China. Finally, this research is promising to make some academic contribution on providing further academic views on its future improvement.