À propos de la propriété intellectuelle Formation en propriété intellectuelle Respect de la propriété intellectuelle Sensibilisation à la propriété intellectuelle La propriété intellectuelle pour… Propriété intellectuelle et… Propriété intellectuelle et… Information relative aux brevets et à la technologie Information en matière de marques Information en matière de dessins et modèles industriels Information en matière d’indications géographiques Information en matière de protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV) Lois, traités et jugements dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle Ressources relatives à la propriété intellectuelle Rapports sur la propriété intellectuelle Protection des brevets Protection des marques Protection des dessins et modèles industriels Protection des indications géographiques Protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV) Règlement extrajudiciaire des litiges Solutions opérationnelles à l’intention des offices de propriété intellectuelle Paiement de services de propriété intellectuelle Décisions et négociations Coopération en matière de développement Appui à l’innovation Partenariats public-privé Outils et services en matière d’intelligence artificielle L’Organisation Travailler avec nous Responsabilité Brevets Marques Dessins et modèles industriels Indications géographiques Droit d’auteur Secrets d’affaires Académie de l’OMPI Ateliers et séminaires Application des droits de propriété intellectuelle WIPO ALERT Sensibilisation Journée mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle Magazine de l’OMPI Études de cas et exemples de réussite Actualités dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle Prix de l’OMPI Entreprises Universités Peuples autochtones Instances judiciaires Ressources génétiques, savoirs traditionnels et expressions culturelles traditionnelles Économie Financement Actifs incorporels Égalité des genres Santé mondiale Changement climatique Politique en matière de concurrence Objectifs de développement durable Technologies de pointe Applications mobiles Sport Tourisme PATENTSCOPE Analyse de brevets Classification internationale des brevets Programme ARDI – Recherche pour l’innovation Programme ASPI – Information spécialisée en matière de brevets Base de données mondiale sur les marques Madrid Monitor Base de données Article 6ter Express Classification de Nice Classification de Vienne Base de données mondiale sur les dessins et modèles Bulletin des dessins et modèles internationaux Base de données Hague Express Classification de Locarno Base de données Lisbon Express Base de données mondiale sur les marques relative aux indications géographiques Base de données PLUTO sur les variétés végétales Base de données GENIE Traités administrés par l’OMPI WIPO Lex – lois, traités et jugements en matière de propriété intellectuelle Normes de l’OMPI Statistiques de propriété intellectuelle WIPO Pearl (Terminologie) Publications de l’OMPI Profils nationaux Centre de connaissances de l’OMPI Série de rapports de l’OMPI consacrés aux tendances technologiques Indice mondial de l’innovation Rapport sur la propriété intellectuelle dans le monde PCT – Le système international des brevets ePCT Budapest – Le système international de dépôt des micro-organismes Madrid – Le système international des marques eMadrid Article 6ter (armoiries, drapeaux, emblèmes nationaux) La Haye – Le système international des dessins et modèles industriels eHague Lisbonne – Le système d’enregistrement international des indications géographiques eLisbon UPOV PRISMA UPOV e-PVP Administration UPOV e-PVP DUS Exchange Médiation Arbitrage Procédure d’expertise Litiges relatifs aux noms de domaine Accès centralisé aux résultats de la recherche et de l’examen (WIPO CASE) Service d’accès numérique aux documents de priorité (DAS) WIPO Pay Compte courant auprès de l’OMPI Assemblées de l’OMPI Comités permanents Calendrier des réunions WIPO Webcast Documents officiels de l’OMPI Plan d’action de l’OMPI pour le développement Assistance technique Institutions de formation en matière de propriété intellectuelle Mesures d’appui concernant la COVID-19 Stratégies nationales de propriété intellectuelle Assistance en matière d’élaboration des politiques et de formulation de la législation Pôle de coopération Centres d’appui à la technologie et à l’innovation (CATI) Transfert de technologie Programme d’aide aux inventeurs WIPO GREEN Initiative PAT-INFORMED de l’OMPI Consortium pour des livres accessibles L’OMPI pour les créateurs WIPO Translate Speech-to-Text Assistant de classification États membres Observateurs Directeur général Activités par unité administrative Bureaux extérieurs Avis de vacance d’emploi Achats Résultats et budget Rapports financiers Audit et supervision
Arabic English Spanish French Russian Chinese
Lois Traités Jugements Recherche par ressort juridique

Japon

JP033-j

Retour

2001 (Gyo-Hi) 142, Minshu Vol.56, No.2, at 348

Date of Judgment: February 22, 2002

 

Issuing Authority: Supreme Court

 

Level of the Issuing Authority: Final Instance

 

Type of Procedure: Judicial(Administrative)

 

Subject Matter: Trademarks

 

Main text of the judgment (decision):

 

The judgment of the original instance court shall be quashed and the case shall be remanded to the Tokyo High Court

 

Reasons:

 

On the grounds of request for certiorari by representatives of the jokoku appellant, SM, HW, CS, II, and YS:

 

1. Facts lawfully established by the original instance court are as follows:

 

P Co., Ltd (hereinafter, 'the Company') applied for trademark registration for the trademark "ENTIES" in horizontal roman letters with clothes in the attached list of the Implementation Rules of the Trademark Law Category 25 as designated products on December 17, 1992. The trademark was registered on January 31, 1996 (Registration No.3116038. Hereinafter, 'the Registered Trademark'). The right to the Registered Trademark was partly assigned to the jokoku appellant by the Company and registration was made to this effect on January 21, 1999. Since then, the jokoku appellant and the Company have jointly held the above trademark right.

On August 20, 1999, the jokoku appellee initiated a proceeding at the Patent Office vis a vis the jokoku appellant and the Company claiming that the registration of the Registered Trademark should be nullified.

The Patent Office rendered a decision on October 26, 2000 on this case and on the ground of Article 4, para.1, subpara.19, ruled that the registration of the Trademark was null and void.

 

2. The present case involves a claim by the jokoku appellant who, on his own, requests that the above decision should be revoked. The original instance court ruled as follows and dismissed the claim.

An action which is aimed at the revocation of a decision of the Patent Office which annulled a registration (hereinafter, 'the Decision to Nullify Registration') of a trademark which is held jointly has to be determined uniformly since it is aimed at determining the right of the joint holders of the same right, and therefore, this action should be regarded as an inherently mandatory joint action. The Trademark Law provides that it will become impossible for the trademark as a whole to be acquired or to subsist, if one of the joint holders of the right to have a trademark registered or the trademark itself loses the interest in acquiring or holding the right (Art.132, para.3 of the Patent Law as applied with modification by Art.56, para.1 of the Trademark Law). Therefore, it is not unreasonable to acknowledge the same regarding an action for revocation of the Decision to Nullify Registration.

It is assumed that a copy of the decision has been sent to the Company at the same time as a copy was sent to the jokoku appellant, but the Company did not initiate an action, and the period for taking action has expired. Therefore, the present action which has been initiated by the jokoku appellant alone is not lawful.

3. However, the above ruling of the original instance court is not justifiable. The reasons are as follows:

(1) In cases where the right which emerged as a result of the application for trademark registration is in question and an action for a proceeding is brought on this right, it has to be done jointly by all rightholders (Art.132, para.3 of the Patent Law as applied with modification by Art.56, para.1 of the Trademark Law). This is intended to require the conformity of the will of all joint rightholders for the acquisition of one and the same trademark. In contrast, once the trademark has been registered, a joint holder of the trademark right may use the registered trademark without the consent of other joint rightholders, although such consent is required for the assignment of a share in the right or the creation of an exclusive right to use the trademark etc. (Article 73 of the Patent Law as applied with modification by Article 35 of the Trademark Law).

If a decision was made to nullify the registration of the registered trademark and the period for an action has expired without an action having been made against this decision, the trademark is deemed not to have existed from the beginning, and the right to use the registered trademark extinguishes retrospectively (Art.46-2 of the Trademark Law). Thus, initiating the above action to revoke the decision of the Patent Office is an act of preservation, i.e. an act to prevent the extinction of the trademark, and therefore, it can be effected by one of the joint holders of the trademark right on his own. Even if one of the joint holders of the trademark right is allowed to initiate an action to revoke the above decision, it does not harm the right of the joint holders who did not take action.

(2) Adjudication to nullify a trademark can be initiated even after the extinction of the trademark right (Art.46, para.2 of the Trademark Law). It is conceivable that a long time after the registration of the trademark right, the whereabouts of other joint rightholders could become unknown, or, since the interest and the circumstances of the each rightholder concerning the trademark vary, other rightholders may not cooperate in initiating an action. In such cases, if, upon the understanding that the action to revoke the Decision to Nullify Registration is an inherently mandatory joint action and that it is unlawful for one of the rightholders to initiate an action on his own, once the period for taking an action expires, the Decision to Nullify Registration comes into effect and the trademark is deemed not to have existed from the beginning, and thus, unfairness will result.

(3) Even if one of the joint holders of the trademark right is allowed to initiate an action to revoke the Decision to Nullify Registration on his own, if the judgment which acknowledges the claim comes into effect, the effect of revocation extends to the joint holders of the right (Law on Administrative Litigation, Art.32, para.1), and there is to be an adjudication procedure by the Patent Office in relation to all joint rightholders (Art.181, para.2 of the Patent Law as applied with modification by Article 63, para.2 of the Trademark Law). On the other hand, if the judgment which dismissed the claim comes into effect, by the expiration of the period for an action in relation to other rightholders, the Decision to Nullify the Registration will come into effect and the trademark right is deemed not to have had an effect from the beginning (Art.46-2 of the Trademark Law). In either case, there is no circumstance where the requirement of the uniform determination of rights is not met. Furthermore, if all joint rightholders jointly initiate an action, or separately initiate an action to revoke the decision, these actions are quasi-mandatory joint actions and thus will be consolidated, and the requirement of uniform determination will be met.

(4) Thus, it is appropriate to conclude that if there is a decision to nullify the registration of the trademark which is jointly held, one of the joint holders is entitled to initiate an action to have the Decision to Nullify the registration on his own.

4. Therefore, there is an evident breach of law which affects the judgment in the judgment of the original instance court which found the present action to be unlawful. Incidentally, judgments such as the Supreme Court 1960 (o) No.684, judgment of the Supreme Court, the First Petty Bench, August 31, 1961, Minshu 15-7-2040, Supreme Court, 1977 (Gyo-tsu) No.28, judgment of the Supreme Court, the Second Petty Bench, January 18, 1980, Saibanshu, civil cases, 129-43, and the Supreme Court, 1994 (Gyo-tsu) No.83, Judgment of the Supreme Court, the Third Petty Bench, March 7, 1995, Minshu 49-3-944 are different from the present case and their citation is not appropriate. Therefore, the judgment of the original instance court shall be quashed, and in order to have the case considered on its merit, the case shall be remanded to the original instance court.

 

Thus, the justices unanimously rule as the main text of judgment.

(Translated by Sir Ernest Satow Chair of Japanese Law, University College, University of London)