A Study Of Trademark Coexistence/Concurrent Use System

Trademark coexistence/concurrent use system is established to regulate the same/similar marks that co-exist in the same market interface.The system is originated in the United States,and has gradually been recognized by other countries' legislations and international organizations.To protect trademark rights is one of trademark legislation' s fundamental objectives,thus under the premise that such behavior shall not be harmful to public interest,rights of users with same/similar trademarks in the same market interface should both/all get protected.Through the 3rd modification of Trademark Law of China,senior user(whose trademark has not been registered)' s rights is now recognized and protected,and in practice courts also give certain level of recognition with regard to the legal effect of trademark coexistence agreements.while a systematic trademark coexistence/concurrent use system,whose significance has not been well noted,is still yet to be established.This thesis shall focus on an analysis of trademark coexistence system,where,after a brief introduction to the system,concentrates on discussing whether the system is necessary and to what extent should likelihood of confusion be considered while making determinations,aiming at providing valuable suggestions to its legal practice in China.The thesis shall consist of the following four chapters:Chapter one gives a brief introduction towards trademark coexistence/concurrent use system,including its meaning,categories and its development and current status in China.At the very being,China did not recognize such system,as back then,the caring of consumer' s rights overweighed the trademark rights of trademark users.As long as there was the tiniest possibility of likelihood of confusion,trademark users' rights shall be discarded.Chapter two focuses on the argument of why trademark coexistence/concurrent use system should be established.In the very essence,trademark right is a private right,and trademark law is established for protecting trademark user' s rights.This means that,if the implementation of trademark rights do not violate public interest,it should be protected.In China' s legal practice,the tendency of recognizing trademark coexistence is becoming clearer.However,since there is no laws or regulations formally recognizing the system,court finds it difficult to make such decisions.Besides,adopting trademark coexistence system is also in accordance with the likelihood of confusion theory.Chapter three is developed based on the discussion of Chapter two.After confirming the necessity of trademark coexistence system,what is needed is a discussion of which kind of trademarks is allowed to coexist,where likelihood of confusion is the key point.From the perspective of comparison law,this chapter selects the United States,whose trademark coexistence system is most well developed,studies on its relevant statutory law and common law.Then this chapter concentrates on the statute and legal practice of China,and draws a conclusion regarding this issue.Based on what has been discussed in the previous three chapters,chapter four offers suggestion to the establishment and improvement of trademark coexistence/concurrent use system in China,which is to make relevant modifications on Article 30 of the current effective trademark law.