商標製品の並行輸入におけるライセンス契約違反と適法性 : フレッドペリー事件最高裁判決
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概要
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Supreme Court has followed lower courts' decisions on parallel importation of trademark goods by ruling as follows: If (1) the trademarks are legally put on the goods by the authentic trademark owner in that country or by its licensee, (2) said trademark owner and the owner of the same trademark in Japan is the same or is deemed to be the same due to the legal or economic relations of them, and (3) the quality of the trademark goods to be imported is deemed to be substantially the same with those of the trademark goods sold by the trademark owner in Japan owing to its capability to directly or indirectly control the quality of the goods, parallel importation of such goods is not substantially illegal as it will not harm the functions of trademark, namely representing the trademark owner and guaranteeing the quality of goods, and will not impair the reputation of the trademark owner and/or the interests of consumers. Supreme Court has also ruled that putting trademark on the goods manufactured in violation of the restriction of the territory and the prohibition of subcontracting of the License Agreement is not a legal use of trademark and jeopardizes the quality guarantee function of trademark as it deprives of the capability to control the quality of the trademark goods from the trademark owner. Use of trademark shall not be legal with respect to the goods manufactured in violation of restriction on the territory of manufacture. Violation of restriction on subcontracting will not make the use of trademark illegal. The restriction of subcontracting is not eligible for registration in case of the sole and exclusive license, without which use of trademark in violation of such restriction is considered not to be the infringement of trademark rights. The same shall apply to all licenses. Harm to the quality guarantee function of trademark shall be measured by more objective standards, such as the qualities or characteristics of the goods in stream, than internal relations of trademark owners, such as the violation of the terms of the license agreements.
- 2006-02-24