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Any Third Party May File Non-Use Revocation against a Trademark Not used for Three Consecutive Years
According to Article 63 of the Trademark Act, after a trademark is registered, the Intellectual Property Office shall revoke its registration at its discretion or upon application once the trademark has not been used for three consecutive years.
As to whether the trademark non-use revocation can only be filed by interested parties, and once the trademark non-use revocation applicant is not an interested party, whether the court should still order the trademark non-use revocation applicant to participate in the lawsuit in the trial of trademark administrative litigation are important issues in trademark non-use revocation cases.
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled in a trademark revocation case in 2022 that the goods or services actually used by the registered trademark should be consistent with the goods or services specified in the trademark registration. Failure to use the registered trademark on the designated goods or services for more than 3 consecutive years without justifiable reasons shall constitute the grounds for revocation stipulated in Article 63 of the Trademark Act. The purpose of Article 63 of the Trademark Act is to urge the trademark owner to continue and lawfully use the trademark after the trademark is registered. Considering the interests of consumers, maintaining fair competition in the market, and promoting the normal development of industrial and commercial enterprises and other legislative purposes, it should be open to public scrutiny, and it is not appropriate to limit the eligibility to file a revocation case. Therefore, when the Trademark Act was amended in 1992, the previous requirement that only an interested party is entitled to file a trademark revocation is revised, and then the Trademark Act grants any third party the right to apply for revocation against trademark registration for non-use.