États-Unis d'Amérique

Japon

Marques de fabrique ou de commerce

9. Please explain whether Section 47 of the Japanese Trademark Law precludes a person from obtaining cancellation of a fraudulently obtained registration in relation to the criteria specified in Section 47 more than five years after registration. If it does, please explain how this provision complies with the requirements of Article 2.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, to the extent that it incorporates Article 6bis(3) of the Paris Convention, which precludes WTO Members from placing time limits on requests for cancellation of marks that were registered or used in bad faith.

The five-year time-limit stipulated in Article 47 of the Japanese Trademark Law does not apply to the request for cancellation of the registration of a well-known trademark registered in bad faith. Article 47 provides that in the case where a trademark is registered in contradiction to Article 4(1)(x) (Protection of well-known trademarks), the five-year time-limit shall not be applicable to such a registration obtained with the intention of unfair competition. The intention of unfair competition is construed as the same as bad faith.