To the Editor of the '"Near-Cuiwa Danty News"
Sm—The very interesting and equally disappointing decision of the Administrative Court referred to in your issue of June 20 causes me to @raw your attention to the much more serious slate of affairs, than expressed in your leader.
Class 4 of Article 37 of the Detailed Regulations for the Execution of the Trademark Law, covering "Soaps" is divided into four groups:
(a) Perfumed soaps gran (b) Medicated soaps grout Common soaps group.
Other. articles that' property livelong In this lass.
According to the present practice fof the Bureau of Trademarks, it is possible for different parties to re-wister the same trademark for the Gifferent groups, referred to above. Thus trademark X may be registered by party A for perfumed soaps, by party B for medicated soaps, and by arly C for common soap.
Although the present law uses the system of Classes and Groups, even within the Groups the Bureau of Trademarks according to present practice allows registration of the Same trademark by different parties. For instance party A has registered trademark ¥ for electric irons in class G7 "Electrical Apparatus, Machinery and "Accessories." Group "Other articles that properly belong in this class." It is possible for party B (o register the same trademark for electric toasters, would lead too far to go Into every one of the instances proving the Wefects of the present system of classification. The whole system of lassi"cation has undoubtedly to be improved. Combined with this, the present practice of the Bureau of Trademarks must be fundament tally changed. The suggestion, contained in your leader, that more discretion should be used by the Bureau of Trademarks, is by means suflcient to prevent abuses. My suggestion would be that new law be created as existent in Several Continental countries, a law, preventing "unfair competition." Such law would give the Bureau of 'Trademarks the possibility to refuse from the very beginning registration of such trademarks like "Hazeline Snow" where the intent, "to ride to Success with the article' on another: man's back" is so obvious. Indeed it Jcould and should cover a much wider sphere, Reference is made to recent cases in this respect. The name "Venus" is the trademark of a well known American pencil manufactur-envelopes, although the local foreign firm had os a further precaution ré- istered their hong name as a trademark for needles, A Chinese firm advertised the medicine "Panedin" to be as good os "Omnadin," the famous registered trademark of the medicine of a local importer, although such statement could hardly be substantiated, There is no remedy in the present laws of China to prevent such abuses. A law drafted on the lines of the Continental Jaws would cer tainly do at least partly away with such unfair business methods and competition.
Shanghai, June 20,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.