| 英文摘要 |
This article argues that unless there are other public policy considerations by the legislature, IP laws should adopt the international exhaustion principle. However, the legislature should review periodically whether these public policy considarations are still valid and being materialized to make sure that the international exhaustion principle will reign. This article first reviews the divergent exhaustion regimes under current IP laws in Taiwan. It then reasons that the international exhaustion principle should be adopted in principle, as it is the systemic requirement of IP law, it suits the public interest, follows Taiwan’s free trade agreement with New Zealand, and complies with the most-favouered nation principle of Article 4 of the TRIPS Agreement. It concludes by putting forward suggestions for achiveing the goal of adopting the international exhaustion principle across all IP laws, such as revising the copyright agreement with the US, revising the Copyright Act, and expressly banning the contractual exclusion of the international exhaustion principle. |
