The registered or unregistered trademark of products is a very important asset in today's competitive market, both locally and globally. It is a treasured intellectual property (IP) and its protection should not be neglected. Several well-known trademarks have brand values amounting to billions of dollars (US). This premium value of trademarks obliges multi-national corporations to sue other entities for the protection of their trademarks on the grounds of trademark infringement and/or unfair competition. This book, edited by Kung-Chung Liu, covers the leading trademark disputes that have become pivotal decisions or landmark cases in the highest courts of select Asian countries, including some cases involving trademark disputes without seemingly applicable trademark law.
The contributors, having selected consequential trademark-related cases decided by the highest courts of their Asian countries, summarize the facts, state the legal context, discuss the reasoning of the court and the legal analyses, and note the commercial or industrial significance of the cases. Although the summaries of facts and court reasonings are short, online sources of the presented cases are provided. Many cases not only involve issues of trademark infringement but also issues of unfair competition. Additionally, some cases demonstrate the dearth of some countries’ trademark legislation or discuss precedence found in common law. The editor has arranged the presentation of trademark cases in such a way that the factual backdrop and legal issues become more and more interesting after each subsequent case.
The book, however, does not provide a clear outline of the differences between trademark laws of the different Asian countries presented and does not compare the decisions of two or more Asian courts – the reader is thus left alone to make this analysis. Moreover, the lack of English transliteration of the laws of non-English speaking Asian countries further hampers an individual reader's ability to comprehensively understand all the cases discussed. Finally, the cases presented in the book are, perhaps, already outdated. There may already be new landmark cases decided by the courts given the dynamic development of jurisprudence involving IP and trademark controversies.
However, the cases presented in this book are so carefully curated by the editor and contributors that they will surely give the students of IP or trademark enthusiasts good examples of well-reasoned decisions on novel trademark disputes.
Competing interests
The author declares none.
