CO129-382 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 527

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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]-

JAPAN.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[37772]

525

CO €870

[October 31.]

SECTION 1.

GS 27 MAR !!

No. 1.

(Confidential.) Sir,

Foreign Office to China Association.

Foreign Office, October 31, 1910. IN compliance with a decision come to at an informal meeting held at the Colonial Office on the 26th July last on the subject of the proposed Anglo-Japanese convention for the mutual protection of trade-marks in China, I am instructed by Sir E. Grey to enclose herewith for your information a copy of

(1.) Draft convention (as suggested by Sir F. Lugard, the Governor of Hong Kong). (2.) Amended counter-draft of the original convention.

The proposal of Sir F. Lugard is being carefully considered, but, having regard to the various difficulties which were referred to at the meeting, Sir E. Grey thinks it doubtful whether it would be advisable to put forward such a proposal in substitution for the draft convention, which follows the lines of other agreements already concluded. With regard to the counter-draft, which forms Enclosure 2 to this letter, every effort will be made to secure its acceptance as it stands, but, seeing that it constitutes a considerable departure from the conventions already concluded between Japan and America and Japan and France, Sir E. Grey thinks it not unlikely that it may prove impossible to obtain the inclusion of the second paragraph of article 1; he wishes to know, therefore, whether your council is of opinion that it is better to have a convention on the lines of the counter-draft without the second paragraph of article 1, or no convention at all.

Sir E. Grey fully realises the fact that the number of British marks in China, which would be affected by a convention such as the one contemplated, is far larger than that of the corresponding number of Japanese marks, and that, consequently, the expenses of additional registration will bear very hardly on British subjects; but it is just because the interests involved are so great that he is anxious that the China Association in coming to a decision should take into consideration--

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1. That it was agreed when these negotiations were first commenced that an Anglo-Japanese convention was a nccessary prelude to the issue of trade-mark regalations by China, and that prior to a convention being concluded the Japanese Trade-mark Law should be revised; this revision has been carried out, and the new law came into force in November last;

2. That conventions on similar lines, though of a narrower scope, have already been concluded by Great Britain with nine countries, such conventions taking the form of an exchange of notes and dealing only with trade-marks;

3. That conventions similar to the proposed one but more advantageous to the Japanese have already been concluded between Japan and America and Japan and France:

4. That although the cotton interest is doubtless predominant, there are many British marks of a different nature which may need protection against possible Japanese piracies;

5. That under the convention, without the second paragraph of article 1, those marks at least which are registered in Japan would obtain protection, whereas if the negotiations fall through the Japanese consuls cannot be compelled by law to protect any British marks whatsoever against piracy by Japanese subjects in China; and, finally,

6. So far as the British consular courts are concerned they would, in any proceedings between a Japanese and a British subject, administer the ordinary law of this country as embodied in the Statute of 1905. Where, therefore, a Hong Kong merchant had used a trade-mark in China prior to registration of such mark by a Japanese merchant in England, he could not be restrained from continuing to use such mark in China by reason of the provisions of section 41 of "The Trade-marks Act, 1905."

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