Newsletter
EXCEPTION TO DISCLAIMER FOR TOBACCO TRADEMARKS
The Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Law provides that descriptive or non-distinctive words or drawings may be registrable as a part of a trademark by entering disclaimer, if deletion of these words or drawings would make the trade-mark incomplete. However, an exception to such disclaimer practice is provided under the Principle in Handling Trademark Applications for Tobacco Products, promulgated by the In-tellectual Property Office on October 14, 2002.
Under the principle, the descriptive words, such as "light", "low tar", or other wordings, which may mislead the consumers into believing that smoking is not hazardous to health, are not reg-istrable as a part of a trademark for tobacco products even with disclaimer. The principle is based on Article 37, Item 6 of the Trademark Law, which provides that a trademark design is not registrable if it is likely to mislead the public with respect to the nature or quality of the goods.