文章作者 约翰福斯特

 

An extensive INTA-led survey of more than two dozen jurisdictions in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia shows that social media evidence is acceptable to at least some degree in trade mark proceedings in all the countries.

The Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) Subcommittee Social Media Working Group, part of the Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee, undertook the survey of committee members last year. The aim was to better understand regional perspectives on submitting evidence of trade mark use on social media for purposes of proving use, reputation, or that the mark is famous or well-known in proceedings before courts and other administrative tribunals.

在这些地区接受调查的辖区包括：来自中东——巴林、加沙、伊朗、约旦、科威特、黎巴嫩、卡塔尔、沙特阿拉伯、阿拉伯联合酋长国 (UAE)、约旦河西岸和也门；来自非洲——阿尔及利亚、安哥拉、埃及、埃塞俄比亚、毛里求斯、摩洛哥、尼日利亚、阿曼、卢旺达、南非、坦桑尼亚（大陆）和突尼斯；来自南亚——巴基斯坦、新加坡和斯里兰卡。

调查询问参与者：

Is the use of a trade mark on social media accepted as evidence in (a) responding to office actions; (b) trade mark opposition or trade mark administrative cancellation proceedings (before the Trademark Office); (c) trade mark enforcement or trade mark judicial cancellation proceedings; (d) all of the above.

根据 调查结果, it appears that social media evidence is at least to some degree acceptable in all the jurisdictions surveyed. In the majority of jurisdictions, respondents said such evidence is accepted in all proceedings, whether in response to office actions or before the trade mark office or courts. That said, there was wide variation in how the evidence should be submitted, how it is treated, and whether it is sufficient to prove use, establish reputation, or prove that the mark is famous or well-known.

For responses to office actions, Algeria, Angola, Iran, Lebanon, Mauritius, Pakistan, and the UAE are the only surveyed jurisdictions in which social media evidence would not be accepted. In Algeria and Lebanon, no trade mark opposition or administrative cancellation proceedings are available. In Ethiopia and Iran, social media is not accepted in any proceedings, while in Angola, Ethiopia, Mauritius, and Pakistan social media evidence is not accepted in trade mark enforcement or judicial cancellation proceedings.

The survey results provide valuable insight into the treatment of social media as evidence in trade mark proceedings.

A series of future articles will look more in-depth at the treatment of social media evidence in the three regions and draw parallels among the jurisdictions. The analysis will consider how social media evidence can be used to prove use, establish reputation, and prove that a mark is famous or well-known, as well as the evidentiary standards or practices attached to social media evidence, and how social media metrics can be introduced as evidence in trade mark proceedings.

著名和知名委员会 - MEASA 小组委员会的三名成员担任本文的验证者：Lea El Feghali（Alyafi IP，科威特）、Hady Khawand（Saba & Co IP，阿联酋）和 Seema Mansoor（Vellani & Vellani，巴基斯坦） ）。

尽管已尽一切努力验证本文的准确性，但仍敦促读者独立检查特定关注或感兴趣的问题。

本文首发于国际商标协会（INTA）.