Does the exception to trademark infringement constitute trademark infringement
The law is not clear whether the exception to trademark infringement constitutes trademark infringement. stipulations, it is necessary to determine whether the constitutive elements of trademark infringement are met.
What are the exceptions to trademark infringement? Situation
(1) Fair use ; (2) Exhaustion of rights; (3) Right of prior use; (4) Prior rights.
Trademark infringement has the following four elements:
First, there must be an illegal act. That is to say, the perpetrator objectively uses the registered trademark without obtaining the permission of the trademark owner or other legal basis, and his behavior is illegal. The perpetrator did not obtain the authorization or permission from the trademark registrant when he first used the trademark, but later obtained his permission or ratification, or the trademark registrant learned of this.Ignoring a situation and expressing acquiescence is not illegal.
Second, there must be harmful consequences. Trademark right is an intangible intellectual property, and the damage caused to it may be tangible material damage, intangible economic loss, or both. Specifically, it can be manifested as a decrease in sales of the trademark owner's products, a decrease in profits, an increase in production costs due to stopping infringement, a decrease in trademark credibility, consumer complaints, etc.
Third, there is a causal relationship between the damage consequences and the illegal behavior, that is, the damage consequences are directly caused by the illegal behavior Caused. This kind of causal relationship is diverse. There are direct causal relationships, such as counterfeiting registered trademarks; there are also indirect causal relationships, such as providing convenient conditions for warehousing, transportation, mailing, concealment, etc. for infringement. If the damage is caused by a series of actions, that is, multiple causes and one result, such as the actor forging trademarks, an intermediary responsible for transportation, or a seller selling goods with counterfeit registered trademarks, the perpetrators of the acts may become infringers. , constituting joint trademark infringement.
Fourth, the perpetrator is subjectively at fault , including intentional and negligent. Intention means that the perpetrator subjectively knows that the trademark of another person has been approved and registered and he has no right to use it, but still uses the same or similar trademark as the registered trademark of others on the same or similar goods; negligence means that the perpetrator should subjectively know that the trademark of others has been registered. Even if registration has been approved, a trademark that is identical or similar to someone else’s registered trademark is still used on the same or similar goods.
I hope that through the above content you can prevent trademark infringement Get a deeper understanding of issues related to behavioral exceptions. If your situation is more complex, Legal Savior Network also provides online lawyer consultation services, and you are welcome to seek legal consultation.