商標善意先使用繼受與授權之研究

A Research on Reception and Licensing of Bona Fide Trademark Use

商標法第36條第1項第4款之商標善意先使用，其法律性質及其是否能被繼受或被授權，乃是學說、實務界之新興議題。尤其，針對商標之善意先使用，是否得以被繼受（以下稱前者）或被授權（以下稱後者），在我國最高法院與智慧財產及商業法院之間，卻作出不一樣之見解。
首先，對於前者，最高法院著重於：商標善意先使用是對抗商標權之法律利益，也具備財產價值，唯有在持續使用商標之前提下，前手之善意先使用，得以被後手繼受。而對於後者，智慧財產及商業法院則主張：商標善意先使用是抗辯權，而不是財產權（即商標權），其並無財產價值，所以不得成為被授權之客體。
是故，本文擬分三部分論述：第一，從商標善意先使用是否能被繼受或被授權之角度，來釐清其法律性質，除了討論其得為抗辯權外，其是否亦屬於法律事實？或其亦具有財產價值？第二，檢視商標善意先使用可否被繼受或被授權之法院判決，來梳理其法律性質，及是否得為被繼受或被授權之客體？最後，綜合提出結論與建議。
當然，本文採取後者（即智慧財產及商業法院）之觀點，亦即商標善意先使用之法律性質，是其能否被繼受或被授權之關鍵，由於其本身為對抗商標權人之抗辯權，故不屬於財產權（即商標權），自然不具備財產價值，所以商標善意先使用不能夠被繼受或被授權。

Bona fide use of trademark is regulated in Clause 4, Section 1, Article 36 of the Trademark Act, and its legal nature/whether or not it could be inherited or licensed are modern issues in theories and practices. In particular, Supreme Court and Intellectual Property and Commercial Court of Taiwan had made different judgments regarding whether bona fide use of trademark could be inherited (hereafter called“former”) or licensed (hereafter called“latter”) or not. First, former perspectives held by the Supreme Court of Taiwan focus that bona fide use of trademark is a legal interest against trademark rights and has property value. Under no interrupting requirement, bona fide use of trademark from the former is inherited by the latter. From the latter perspectives of Intellectual Property and Commercial Court of Taiwan, it held that bona fide use of trademark is a right of defense and has no property value, so it could not be an object of licensing.
Therefore, this article will describe with three parts: First, understanding a legal nature of bona fide use of trademark in addition to discussions about right of defense, legal fact or property value through perspectives that whether bona fide use of trademark could be inherited or licensing or not? Second, examining courts’judgments regarding whether bona fide use of trademark could be inherited or licensing or not in order to analyze its legal nature and it could be an object of inheritance or licensing, couldn’t it? At last, making comprehensive conclusions and suggestions. Of course, this article adopts the latter’s viewpoints (Intellectual Property and Commercial Court of Taiwan), and it held that the key point whether or not bona fide use of trademark could be inherited or licensing is a legal nature of bona fide use of trademark. Because bona fide use of trademark is a right of defense against trademark right holders, not a property right (trademark right), and has no property value, it could not be inherited or licensing.