During the court trials for the events of the trademark registration applications, trademark oppositions, trademark invalidations and/or trademark revocations (cancellations), it is quite common for the parties to the litigations to submit new evidence to support their claims on the issues of trademark distinctiveness, trademark famous status, trademark prior use, trademark similarity or trademark confusion.

 

It is an unsettled controversial issue whether or not such new use evidence, which is produced after the trademark registration, can be accepted for consideration during the court trial.

 

The Supreme Administrative Court expounded the detailed legal issues and held in 2024 in an appeal for a trademark opposition event that in a trademark opposition case, the basis for determining whether a trademark lacks distinctiveness should be based on the factual status when the disputed trademark is approved for registration, not when the objection is decided, nor when the oral argument in the court of factual trial ends.

 

The Court concluded specifically for a trademark opposition case that the use evidence to support trademark distinctiveness, which is produced after the decision for trademark registration application is made, cannot be accepted during the following administrative appeal or court litigation.