Japon

Royaume-Uni

Marques de fabrique ou de commerce

3. Please elaborate on "the use without due cause" described in Section 5(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 by giving examples, and also whether or not the trademark may be used or is registrable when there is "due cause". If it is so, please explain its consistency with the provisions of Article 16.3 of the TRIPS Agreement which makes no reference to "due cause".

As indicated above, the words "the use without due cause" in Section 5(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 mirror those in Article 8(5) of Council Regulation (EC) 40/94. Again, it must be left for the Courts (and ultimately the European Court of Justice) to decide precisely what is meant by these words. So far, no such examples have been considered by the Courts.