중국 상표법의 연속 관계 및 공존 협의

Analysis on the continuing relationship and co-existence agreement under the Trademark Act in PRC

It seems obvious that a trademark application should be rejected if there is a prior registered trademark that is identical with or similar to the subject of the application, for the same or similar goods or services. However, there are two notable (potential) exceptions with regard to this simple principle under the Trademark Act in PRC: a continuing relationship(延续关系) and co-existence agreement(共存协议). First, the issue of continuing relationship arises from the fact that brand owners tend to gradually expand the scope of the classes of goods or services for their trademark registrations as their business grows or their brand becomes more famous. Because of this common practice, it is an issue whether a trademark application should be examined as an independent mark or as a part of the whole brand group. Second, the pre-existing registered trademark owner may consent to the registration of the similar succeeding application. The issue is whether the Trademark Office should refuse the registration even if the owner of the registered trademark agrees with such registration. In this article, the two issues of continuing relationship and co-existence agreement under the Trademark Act in PRC are analyzed. Also recent rulings of People's Court in PRC regarding these issues are introduced.