- 學位論文
氣味商標之研究－以實務申請探討為中心
The Study of Introducing Scent Mark into Taiwan's Trademark Act: Referring to Application Practices
摘要
探討氣味商標是否予以法律保護時，勢必要重新探究商標的本質，商標保護的對象應不在何種類型商標是否受到保護，而在於其是否具有識別性。從我國92年新修正商標法增加聲音為商標法定類型之一可知，聽覺商標亦非以視覺可感知為本質，因此氣味商標在特定的條件下是有可能符合識別性要件。 在認定氣味商標本身是否有可能受到商標保護的同時，因氣味本身難以用視覺可感知的圖文呈現，因此勢必要探討商標申請實務上，相關消費者如何區別不同氣味商標之間的不同，故依目前技術發展如何佐以科技設備以輔助文字描述氣味商標及氣味樣本的存放成為商標申請的關鍵問題。 本論文認為商標圖樣表示之法律要件存有商標權定義功能、行政管理功能、第三人接觸資訊功能之意義，然不同商標類型依其本質應有彈性的適用標準，不應完全拘泥於「視覺可感知」之要件。雖然以文字描述氣味固有其限制，然結合氣味樣本及其他科技工具，或在特定條件，仍有開放氣味商標註冊空間。 此外，於商標審查的過程，需要釐清氣味本身是否為發揮特定功能所必要，功能性的考量目的在防止商標註冊的結果造成市場上不公平競爭，故氣味之使用在特定市場中若為發揮產品或服務功能所需，應不允許其註冊。然科技發展亦影響消費者對氣味功能性之認知有所改變，使得氣味的描述性特質成為其識別的來源，例如：香水是也。故氣味商標如何影響市場競爭亦是探討的重點。 簡言之，承認氣味可作為表彰商品或服務的來源並受到商標法的保護，目的在於使市場的競爭者可以發揮創意，創造不同商品或服務之行銷手法，以促進工商業發展並使其投資在商品或服務的經營受到法律保護。故於文末提出相關修法建議及審查基準之草擬以供未來實務運作之參考。
並列摘要
When inquiring into if scent mark is protected under Trademark Act, it is necessary to review the theory of trademark by its nature. Instead of focusing on what types of marks could be protected, the point is whether a particular mark has distinctive character. Since the protection of non-visual perceptible sound marks was added to Trademark Act amended in 2003, non-visible scent marks, therefore, could be conform to the condition of distinctiveness. Scent itself is difficult to be represented graphically at the present, so how relevant consumers to differentiate one scent mark from another, and how to represent scent mark in written description and to deposit scent specimen have become important issues in trademark application practices. Undoubtedly, the requirement of graphical representation plays an important role in defining the scope of trademark right, provides information about marks for consumers or potential traders, and facilitates administrative management for the authorities. However, representation requirement should not be closely tailored to traditional visible marks. In other words, the combination of words description, scent specimen, or other technological instruments could be sufficient representation for scent marks. If the scent of a product is essential to the use or purpose of the article or if it affects the cost or quality of the article, it cannot serve as a trademark. However, the progressing of technology has changed consumers’ attitudes about functions of scent under particular environment, such as perfume. In that case, whether the registration of the scent of perfume is to be approved, competitive need in a relevant market should be taken into account. To sum up, extending the protected matters under Trademark Act to scent marks is to encourage enterprises to develop creative ideas which would be used to promote new products or services. By this way, the investment of efforts, money, time, or other resources in those ideas could be safeguarded by Trademark Act. In the end, I have brought up some ideas about “draft revised Trademark Act” and “Scent Mark Examination Manual” for public comment.