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Summary
The Japan Patent Office (JPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) held a trilateral meeting on October 15 and 16, 2007. The Trademark Office
of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China (CTMO) attended the meeting as an observer. In addition, the Heads' Meeting was held between the JPO and the CTMO on October 17, 2007. Results and outlines of the two meetings are as follows.
1. Opening of the 6th Japan-US-Europe Trade Mark Trilateral Meeting
The 6th Japan-US-Europe Trademark Trilateral Meeting (highest-level meeting) was held on October 15 and 16, 2007 at JPO to exchange opinions and discuss trademark systems and operational issues.
<Main Topic>
(1) Issues and Cooperation Concerning Trademarks in China
The meeting discussed issues concerning China, which accounted for 31.2% of global trademark applications and has a pressing need to facilitate trademark examinations and revise trademark law. Topics discussed include the introduction of IT and effective paperwork, the direction of trilateral cooperation to protect well-known trademarks, and the opening of workshop in China through trilateral cooperation.
(2) Product and Service Labeling Category* Manual Project
The trilateral meeting made a list of product and service labeling categories that
were acceptable to all parties to reduce the burden on those who apply for trademark ownership abroad. They are working to establish an internationally standardized list. The meeting agreed that they would facilitate the participation of a third country in the project, while discussing the issue of paperwork at three patent offices and effective ways to invite more countries to participate in the project.
*The name “product or service” an applicant specifies to determine the range of trademark use at the time of trademark application is subject to the law of the country in which application is filed. For example, “clothing” is an acceptable labeling in Japan and Europe, but unacceptable in the US. On the other hand, “blazer” is acceptable in all three countries.
(3) Increased Convenience of the System for International Registration of Marks
The meeting recognized that it is important to improve the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid System) in order to make it more user friendly and that it is necessary to revise basic requirements of the system*. Therefore, the meeting agreed that it will actively participate in discussions taking place at the Working Group on the Madrid System for the Registration of Marks, WIPO.
*Under the Madrid system, a trademark owner is required to file and register an international mark, which is the same mark as he filed and registered in his own country.
(4) Information Exchange on the Introduction of IT
The meeting exchanged information on trademark search systems in the area of IT cooperation and discussed the future prospects of search techniques including image search system. The meeting agreed exchange information on IT related matters of interest
would continue.
(5) China’s Participation to the Trademark Trilateral Meeting as A Guest
The Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of
the People's Republic of China (CTMO) attended the Trademark Trilateral Meeting as a guest, as agreed at the previous meeting. In addition, a special meeting was held separately to exchange information on the status of application, examination and digitization, measures to accelerate the examination process, and operational matters. The meeting and China agreed that CTMO will attend the trilateral meeting in the future to exchange information on operational matters.
2. Heads' Meeting between the JPO and the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of
the People's Republic of China (CTMO) (October 17)
The Heads' Meeting between the JPO and the Trademark Office, State Administration for Industry and Commerce of People's Republic of China (CTMO), which was held for the first time in four years since November 2003, exchanged information on various issues, including the acceleration of
the examination process and the revision of trademark law in China. Both parties agreed to continue cooperation at both the working and higher levels and
to meet on a regular basis, for example, to improve efficiency of the examination process,
to cooperate in introducing IT, and to create a handbook on application procedures in the two countries as a way to provide information to owners of marks.
As for the improvement of the system and its operation to protect trademark right, the JPO informed
the CTMO that Japan's business community was highly interested in the protection of unregistered trademarks which were well-known abroad, and the introduction of criminal charges against trademark violation involving similar trademarks. Both parties agreed that they will continue to exchange information in examining the revision of the
Law.
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