This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
# CHINA TRADE.
## CONFIDENTIAL.
[16627]
No. 1.
724
[May 14.]
## SECTION 1.
0.0
22339
Sir,
China Association to Foreign Office.--(Received May 14.)
159, Cannon Street, London) JUN 08 I HAVE the honour to acknowledge, and thank you for, your despatch of the
May 13, 1908. 5th May, with which you inclose, for the confidential information of the Committee of this Association, a copy of the text of the proposed Anglo-Japanese Convention for the mutual protection of British and Japanese trade-marks in China and Corea, upon which Sir Edward Grey desires to receive our views.
We observe that the Convention provides for reciprocal protection in China and Corea of trade-marks registered by the subjects of one Contracting Party in the appropriate office of the other Contracting Party, such protection to be as is provided for by the laws of the country of registration,
It appears to the Committee that a question of prime consideration is what protection of trade-marks, whether registered or otherwise, is afforded by the laws and practice of the Contracting Parties? Those of Great Britain are well defined, and are based upon principles of equity and fair dealing; that those of Japan, so far as we have knowledge of them, are similarly based, is a matter most gravely doubted, not only by British merchants, but by all foreign traders in the Far East. As evidence in support of this statement, we beg to inclose a copy of a letter addressed by the Association's Shanghae Branch to His Majesty's Consul-General at that port, written in response to the latter's request for their opinion upon a despatch of His Majesty's Ambassador at Tokio dealing with the trade-marks question in Japan.
The views contained in the Shanghae letter have strong support in letters and telegrams received from the Association's branches at Hong Kong and Tien-tsin, and in view of such generally expressed opinion, we cannot but endorse the contention that prior to the conclusion of any Trade-marks Convention with Japan "pressure" (in the words of the Shanghae letter) "should be put upon Japan to amend her laws in conformity with fair dealing." It is the opinion of the Committee that the conclusion of the proposed Convention under present conditions would simply be taken as a recognition of her altogether unsatisfactory and, we submit, unfair attitude in the matter of trade-marks protection.
We would further venture to remark that the proposed Convention deals only with registered marks, in which connection it seems pertinent to point out that British merchants in China have had in use for very many years numerous trade-marks which, though they cannot be registered in Great Britain, are nevertheless protected by British law by the right of "prior use." So far as is understood, no such protection through "prior use" is recognized in Japan, and we would submit that it is not only conceivable, but morally certain, that the disabilities preventing registration of many marks in Great Britain do not obtain in the younger conditions of Japan, with the result that it will be necessary for British merchants to register in Japan all their marks (whether registered in Great Britain or not) in order to protect themselves against piratical registration by Japanese. The expense thus entailed is one which merchants will certainly hesitate to incur, particularly in view of the entire lack of confidence felt by British merchants as to reality of protection afforded by Japanese law.
[2967 0-1]
I have, &c. (Signed)
C. J. DUDGEON,
Chairman.