RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/38
8October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4094)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REVIEW OFLEGISLATION ONTRADEMARKS,
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
Questions posed byNewZealand
Bymeans ofcommunications from thePermanent Mission ofNew Zealand, dated
3October 1996, theSecretariat hasreceived questions thatNewZealand hadcommunicated tothe
following WTO Members concerning thereview ofnational implementing legislation intheareas of
trademarks, geographical indications andindustrial designs:
Page
European Communities 2
Japan 2
United States 2IP/C/W/38
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Trademarks
1. PleaseexplainhowArticle15oftheTRIPSAgreementisfullyencompassedbyTitleII,Article4
ofCouncil Regulation No.40/94. Forexample, arecombinations ofsignsandcombinations ofcolours
included?
2. (a) DoesEClaw,forexampleTitleII,Article7.1(g),preventtheregistrationofatrademark
where theapplicant hasusedthename ofaTRIPS Agreement Member, either onits
ownorincombination withother words, butwhere theapplicant andthegoods or
services, thesubject oftheapplication, havenoconnection totheTRIPS Agreement
Member?
(b) Iftheanswer to(a)above isintheaffirmative, please confirm thatevenwhere a
trademarkhasbecomedistinctive,thiswouldstillnotenableatrademarktoberegistered.
(c) Iftheanswer to(b)isinthenegative, please explain thejustification.
3. Please provide examples oftrademarks which would be(orcould be)classed asbeing "contrary
topublic policy" (Title II,Article 7.1(f)).
JAPAN
Industrial Designs
1. Insection 3(2)oftheDesign Lawitspecifies thatdesigns which "could havebeeneasily created
...bysomeone skilled inthearttowhich thedesign pertains, onthebasisofashape, pattern orcolour
[sic]oranycombination thereof widely known inJapan" shallnotberegistered. Please explain how
thisconforms toArticle 25.1oftheTRIPS Agreement which states that"Members mayprovide that
designs arenotnewororiginal iftheydonotsignificantly differ fromknown designs orcombinations
ofknown design features".
2. Insection 5(i)oftheDesign Lawitspecifies thatdesigns liable tocontravene morality are
excluded fromdesign protection. Please explain whattypes ofdesigns could fallwithin thisprovision.
UNITED STATES
Trademarks
1. Please explain how15USC1051 [Section 1](a)(1)(1) and(b)(1)(a) comply withArticle 15.3
oftheTRIPS Agreement inrequiring anapplicant tostateinanapplication thedateoffirstuseof
themark andthedateofthefirstuseofthemark incommerce ((a)(1)(a)), orthebonafideintention
tousethemark incommerce ((b)(1)(a)).
2. In15USC 1052 [Section 2](a)reference ismade to"national symbols". Please explain the
scope ofthisprovision, providing some examples ofthetypes ofsymbols which arecovered bythis
provision.IP/C/W/38
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3. Please confirm that15USC1052 [Section 2](e)(3) willprevent theregistration intheUnited
States ofatrademark where theapplicant hasusedthename ofaTRIPS Agreement Member, either
onitsownorincombination withother words, butwhere theapplicant andthegoods orservices,
thesubject oftheapplication, havenoconnection totheTRIPS Agreement Member.
4. Would 15USC 1052 [Section 2](e)(1) enable aTRIPS Agreement Member toprevent the
registration ofatrademark inthecircumstances described inquestion 3taking intoaccount the
qualification in(f)?
5. (a) Would 15USC 1056 [Section 6]enable atrademark, which includes thename ofa
TRIPS Agreement Member, toberegistered iftheMember 'sname isdisclaimed?
(b) Would theanswer to(a)alsoapply iftheapplicant 'strademark wascaught by
15USC 1052(e)(3)?
Industrial Designs
1. Article25.1oftheTRIPSAgreementstatesthatMembersmayprovidethatprotectionfordesigns
shallnotextend todesigns dictated essentially bytechnical orfunctional considerations. In35USC 171
protection fortechnical andfunctional designs isexcluded. Arethese designs protected byUSlaw
insome other way? Ifso,howaretheyprotected andforhowlongdotheyreceive protection?