Title: Well-known Trademark Protection in the Post-WTO Era

Authors: He Aiwen, Pan Yanyan

Abstract: On September 16, 2021, the Chinese government formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). At present, the relevant system of domestic law complies with TRIPS, but CPTPP prescribes additional (TRIPS-plus) obligations for the Parties which require renewal of relevant rules of domestic benchmarking. Intellectual property rights are vital subjects within the CPTPP, and protecting legitimate trademarks, which is an important form of intellectual property, especially well-known trademarks, has always been an essential target of the Chinese government. So, this paper takes the MUJI Case as an example and discusses how to amend the current laws by comparing the intellectual property rules represented by the CPTPP and the provisions of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, centering on the protection of well-known trademarks. The following suggestions are given: launching pilot projects for preferential protection of non-traditional trademarks, and establishing an international negative list of international well-known trademark access based on the principle of most-favored-nation treatment, which will give full play to Chinese characteristics so as to help realize the Chinese path to modernization and innovation.

Keywords: Chinese Path to Modernization, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Well-known Trademark, Additional Trademark