Legal Positioning and Optimization of Trademark Coexistence Agreements in China

Abstract

Amidst the flourishing development of Chinese market economy, trademark coexistence agreements have emerged as a potentially valuable means for market entities to resolve trademark registration conflicts and prevent infringement. However, these agreements struggle to gain stable and effective recognition within Chinese trademark law environment. Notably, they face two major issues: first, courts sometimes exhibit logical deficiencies when adjudicating related cases; second, the agreements themselves are often too simplistic in content to serve their intended purpose of mitigating confusion. Nevertheless, based on the legislative purpose of the Trademark Law, there is sufficient ground to recognize coexistence agreements on the premise of trademark coexistence. Based on the key points in Chinese judicial decisions concerning such cases, as well as legislative and judicial practices related to trademark coexistence agreements in other jurisdictions, Chinese courts should adopt a consumer-oriented perspective and thoroughly assess potential scenarios in which conflicting trademarks may cause confusion. Furthermore, it is necessary to refine the criteria and considerations used in reviewing coexistence agreements. Besides, when drafting these agreements, parties should proactively address applicable review factors by stipulating specific and reasonable preventive measures while clearly restricting how both parties may use their respective trademarks, thereby reducing the likelihood of confusion between conflicting trademarks.