Main issues in the regulation of licence arrangements on foreign trademarks: The Latin American experience

The licensing of foreign trademarks has become an issue of concern for a majority of Latin American governments during the last decade. The impact of such arrangements on the balance of payments, the growing dependence of licensees vis-à-vis the licensor, and the risks involved in the development of new markets through the use of licensed trademarks have, among other reasons of public policy, led to the adoption of a number of regulatory measures. These range from the control of restrictive practices, the price and duration of such arrangements, to the direct limitation of the use of foreign trademarks. The implementation of these measures, however, has encountered serious obstacles and, in some cases, has not achieved their declared aims. Therefore, the appropriate regulation of licensing on foreign trademarks is, to a great extent, still an unresolved issue.     

Foreign trademarks in developing countries

Foreign trademarks are used in some cases to cover imported goods and generally products made in the host countries by foreign manufacturing subsidiaries and licensees. This industrial property right is a major source of market power for those subsidiaries making consumer goods. Domestic enterprises making similar goods must either accept a reduced share of the market or must enter into trademark license agreements. But even in those cases, although licensees of foreign-owned trademarks receive a current profit out of the licence, they cannot enjoy the result of the goodwill development.Although the advertising expenditures are borne by the consumers of the developing countries, the accrual in goodwill is for the benefit of non-resident owners of this intangible asset. These private benefits — mostly appropriated by the foreign trademark owner — can be considered as net social costs to the recipient country.     

论驰名商标的法律保护

我国关于驰名商标保护的法律规定和司法实践还不够成熟,学术界的观点也意见不一。鉴于此,借鉴国外驰名商标法律保护的理论与实践,并结合我国的实际情况,提出完善我国驰名商标保护法律制度的某些建议,以使驰名商标得到更全面更系统的法律保护。     

The economic benefits and costs of trademarks: Lessons for the developing countries

Trademarks may be credited with social benefits to the extent they identify quality for consumers. In particular, trademarks may reduce purchase errors and the costs people bear when attempting to avoid errors. However, several forms of social costs are associated with trademarks when trademarks (and the persuasive advertising promoting them) provide the sole or major source of quality identification for the product, and when grants of exclusive use to particular product sources protect the goodwill (or monopoly) rents that attach to trademarks. To maximize benefits and minimize costs, it is suggested that identification of quality and source be separated wherever possible.     

企业商标国际注册研究——以上海冠生园集团“大白兔”奶糖商标为视角

开展商标国际注册已经成为中国企业保护自身知识产权的一项重要战略。在当今国际市场走出去和引进来的外贸格局下,如何有效地进行商标国际注册,是我国外向型企业要考虑的问题。上海冠生园集团有限公司成功运用商标国际注册战略,抢占先机,形成商标立体保护体系,但仍有需要改进和探索之处。     

城市公用事业特许合同初探

长期以来,我国城市公用事业被排除在市场经济运行体制之外,不能有效地融入市场经济体制之中。政府在公用事业中角色的混乱也导致公用事业政企不分、政事不分,严重制约了我国城市公用事业的发展。20世纪90年代以来的市场化改革带动了城市公用事业的快速发展。但是,在发展的同时也带来了一些不可回避的问题。本文笔者从特许经营合同的角度,利用行政合同的相关知识,结合公共选择理论以及新公共管理的思想,在参考国外模式的前提下,列举相关实例,剖析我国公用事业特许合同中存在的相关问题并提出初步解决方案。     

略论我国未注册驰名商标保护中的国际私法问题

我国商标法对在我国境内未注册的驰名商标提供保护,由此而产生了有关于商标权成立、驰名商标的确认、商标许可使用合同与商标侵权等法律冲突与司法管辖权冲突问题。目前我国解决涉外合同、侵权的国际私法规则并不能适用于对未注册驰名商标保护这一特殊制度。因此,亟需根据未注册驰名商标保护的特殊性、有关问题法律冲突与管辖权冲突的特殊性来制定针对性的国际私法规范,以确定有相当合理性的准据法,从而使得我国的未注册驰名商标特殊的保护制度得以良性施行。     

服装商标翻译的文化差异及翻译策略

随着经济全球化进程的加速,商标的英汉互译日益显示出其重要性,而服装商标的翻译是决定服装在国际市场上营销成败的关键因素之一。本文通过个案分析探讨服装商标翻译问题,分析了服装商标中的文化差异主要表现在审美心理和风俗习惯等方面,并总结了四种适用于服装商标的翻译策略,即音译法、直译法、意译法、混合译法。     

Patents and trademarks in pharmaceuticals

While the role of patents and trademarks in reinforcing the market power of TNCs operating in the pharmaceutical industry is beyond doubt, the possibilities of reducing such market power through public policies dealing with industrial property in developing countries are less clear. Evidence on policies aimed at eliminating or weakening patent rights, and/or at promoting the use of generic names instead of trademarks for pharmaceuticals is examined. It is concluded that these policies are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for modifying the current market structure of the pharmaceutical industry in developing countries.     

货币互换协议、金融市场与中国对外直接投资

基于2003-2018年169个国家的面板数据,文章利用多期双重差分方法探讨了货币互换协议对我国对外直接投资规模与密集度的影响,并通过PSM-DID方法和证伪检验对模型的稳健性进行验证。在此基础上,运用中介效应和调节效应检验方法对货币互换政策的金融市场作用机制进行分析。研究发现,货币互换协议对我国OFDI规模与密集度均有显著积极影响;预期汇率风险是货币互换协议促进我国OFDI的重要影响机制,中介传导而非调节效应是主要影响渠道,而利率市场的影响机制尚未发挥作用。在经济全球化和复杂的国际形势下,这一研究对我国进一步推动国家间金融领域深化合作和推进人民币国际化以畅通国内国际双循环具有重要参考价值。     

Understanding the role of trade agreements in Indonesia’s FDI

In this paper, we develop the hypothesis that trade agreements influence foreign direct investment (FDI). We extend the conventional model of FDI determinants to accommodate the role of trade agreements. Fitting Indonesian data to this model, we discover strong evidence that, while both bilateral and multilateral trade agreements positively influence Indonesia’s FDI, multilateral agreements have a larger effect. We further distinguish FDI by sector and find sector-specific trade agreements play an active role: these agreements positively influence FDI in the primary and service sectors, but not in the manufacturing sector. We also find that trade agreements positively influence FDI through the export and total factor productivity channels, and less so through the economic growth channel.     

The role of international companies in the economy of South Africa

Summary It is impossible for corporations that locate in South Africa to follow unilateral policies of their own because they must enter into partnership with any of the parastals that we have already identified. Any foreign investor is required to sell some of his shares to one of the government corporations or its subsidiaries before he can start his business operations. These shares are not sold in the market, but under definite partnership agreements. This article is a condensed version of chapter 10 of the recently revised book, The Political Economy of South Africa: The Making of Poverty, published by University Press of America in Washington, D.C.     

The law of trademarks in India

A law for the registration of trademarks was first enacted in India in 1940. This was replaced by the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, which is now in force. This placed the trademarks Registry and the Patent Office under a common head. The trademarks Register is divided into two parts, distinctive marks being registered in Part A and marks capable of distinguishing in Part B. There is also provision for defensive registration. The duration of registration is 7 yr but may be renewed. There are provisions for preventing trafficking in trademarks. Permission of the Central Government is necessary for registration as a registered user. Civil, and sometimes criminal, proceedings can be initiated for infringement.     

Trademarks and the Third World

There were about four million trademarks in force throughout the world in 1974. Around one million of them were granted in the developing countries; one half of these were owned by foreigners and most of them for items of consumption for the elites. Advertising expenditures in developing countries, mostly meant to promote these trademarks, amounted to $4 billion in 1973 - twice as much as their expenditure on R & D!This article examines the place of trademarks in developing countries and their functions. It points to the anomaly between the legal framework, national as well as international, giving protection to the owners of trademarks and the interests of development of the Third World. It concludes by drawing attention to initiatives for balancing the grant of such rights, mostly to transnational corporations by considerations of national interest.     

The origin of FDI and domestic firms’ productivity—Evidence from Vietnam

This study examines how the origin of foreign investors affects the degree of horizontal and vertical technological spillovers, using firm-level panel data from Vietnam in 2002–2011. The results show a positive association between the presence of Asian firms in downstream sectors and the productivity of Vietnamese firms in supply industries, but no significant relationship in the case of European and North American affiliates. Within Asia, we find that foreign direct investment from China and Taiwan generates positive vertical spillovers to local suppliers. We hypothesize that distance, preferential trade agreements, and institutional or technological differences that affect the degree of local sourcing significantly impact vertical spillovers from foreign direct investment. The horizontal spillover effects are in general negative and statistically significant. Various robustness checks are performed.     

Are stricter investment rules contagious? Host country competition for foreign direct investment through international agreements

We argue that competitive diffusion is a driver of the trend toward international investment agreements with stricter investment rules, namely defensive moves of developing countries concerned about foreign direct investment (FDI) diversion in favor of competing host countries. Accounting for spatial dependence in the formation of bilateral investment treaties and preferential trade agreements that contain investment provisions, we find that the increase in agreements with stricter provisions on investor-to-state dispute settlement and pre-establishment national treatment is a contagious process. Specifically, a developing country is more likely to sign an agreement with weak investment provisions if other developing countries that compete for FDI from the same developed country have previously signed agreements with similarly weak provisions. Conversely, contagion in agreements with strong provisions exclusively derives from agreements with strong provisions that other FDI-competing developing countries have previously signed with a specific developed source country of FDI.     

贸易协定之于出口增长:是激励还是阻力?

贸易协定已经成为区域贸易合作的重要方式,逐渐被各国所重视。文章从贸易协定异质性视角,构建贸易协定异质性指数,同时运用主成分分析法提取的新变量,共同探究其对2000-2014年中国出口三元边际的影响。研究发现,强制性指数对三元边际促进作用显著,说明贸易条款总体上能够降低贸易成本、促进出口。非强制性指数和制度质量指数对三元边际抑制作用显著,表明其所具有的灵活性和隐蔽性,成为抑制贸易增长的主要原因。主成分提取的新变量对三元边际的影响显著且差异各半,进一步说明贸易协定异质性的存在。明确贸易协定异质性,能够根据贸易条款执行力的不同,有重点地签订贸易协定,使其更好地服务于中国对外贸易发展。     

争论与妥协:美国“贸易促进授权”新探

"贸易促进授权"(TPA)模式是美国国会批准政府签署的国际贸易协定的特殊方法.它是国会和以总统为首的政府之间划分美国对外贸易决策权的结果.从TPA的历史演变来看,国会对贸易协定谈判的干预和监督日益加强.     

外资利用与中国产业比较优势的相关性研究

改革开放以来,外商直接投资成为中国经济发展的主要动力之一,外资对经济增长和产业结构升级的拉动作用都非常明显。本文分析中国三大产业的外资利用情况,发现相对于制造业而言,服务业在利用外资和提升产业比较优势上都明显落后,但是服务业内部却存在相对比较优势差异。通过实证检验我们发现服务业与农业的外资利用程度越高,产业的比较优势越明显,制造业则相反。     

Welfare Implications of RTAs Within the WTO System in the Presence of FDI

We examine the welfare implications of the two major types of regional trade agreements (RTAs)—free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs)—within the WTO system in the presence of FDI. To do so, we analyze multilateral tariff cooperation in the context of two types of WTO regimes: a pure WTO regime without any RTAs and a modified WTO regime in which RTAs coexist with the multilateral framework. Our main finding is that in the presence of significant foreign ownership, RTAs within a multilateral system do not raise the national welfare of its members, thereby weakening the incentives of countries to form RTAs.