Issues And Institutional Development Of Trade Name Protection In China

As identity of commodity producers and traders and intangible assets, trade name plays an important role in the modern market economy competition, which has aroused people’s wide attention and led to the emergence of a large number of trade name dispute. Improving the legal system of trade name on judicial and legislative levels can not only effectively prevent and reduce trade name dispute, but also protect the rights and interests of holders and consumers and safeguard the fair market competition order.Besides introduction and conclusion, this article is divided into three chapters. The first chapter inspects our country’s trade name dispute. Depending on the nature of commercial subjects, ways of the use of trade name, geographical scope and range of industries and reputation of the firm, trade name dispute presents different focus of controversy. Considering the trade name has not yet become an independent object of civil rights, characterizing trade name dispute as unfair completion can make up for the defect of authorization protected mode and achieve fairness and efficiency. The second chapter discusses the problems and measures of judicial protection of trade name in China. In the trial of trade name dispute, the court’s problems include imperfect understanding of the laws and regulations, non-standard special protection of well-known trade name, arbitrary decision to stop using and compensate for the losses, the separation of the trade name registration and judicial system. Therefore, the judiciary needs to constantly summarize practical experience, use basic principles such as protective prior right, honesty and credit, clear the components of unfair competition related to trade name, break through the regional and industrial restrictions of well-known trade name protection, moderately apply stop tort liability and statutory damages, properly converge judicial and administrative procedures. The third chapter discusses the problems and suggestions of legislative protection of trade name in China. China’s current laws related to trade name have many disadvantages such as uniform legal language, unclear content, low status, poor coordination and strong administrative color. In the future, our country can develop trademarks and other commercial signs law; establish the independent legal status of trade name rights; clearly define that trade name rights belong to the category of intellectual property; reform trade name registration; set up trade name rights system including the exclusive right to use, right to license others to use and right to transfer.