상표권 행사에 대한 경쟁법 집행의 과제와 방향성

Activities relating to various intellectual properties are major aspects where competition law puts its interest. According to the modern view, it is generally accepted that protecting intellectual properties harmonizes with the purpose of the competition law, and the common goal rooted in the innovation is central to such understanding. While trademarks are one of the major intellectual properties, there are substantial differences in the functions and effects of trademarks as compared to patents. Specifically, trademarks are not protected by virtue of the reward for creation of novel ideas or expressions, but as assets in good name which function to differentiate competitors in the markets. Being essentially different from other intellectual property rights which form statutory monopoly and thus bear innate tensions with competition policies, trademarks have core functions of maintaining the competitive order. As such, trademark owners’ business practices including exertion and licensing may be readily harmonized with the goal of competition rules. On one hand, trademark protection would enable trademark owners put more effort in improving the quality of trademarked products in order to maintain the good name attached to his/her trademarks. On the other hand, the ideal state that the trademark rules presume where competitors use there own trademarks distinguished from one another would prevent confusions on consumer’s side with regard to the sources of products, resulting in lowering of search costs. Evidently, such outcome contributes to consumer welfare. Therefore, the standard views of competition enforcement toward the activities related to trademarks should be distinguished from those with respect to the patents or copyrights, which means that the pro-competitiveness of the basic functions of trademarks and trademark protection rules need to be more respected when enforcing competition law against the licensing activities or other transactions related to the trademarks. Further, maintaining keen understanding of the specific competitive characteristics of trademarks and the protection regime thereof may affect the methods of market definition, assessing market power and the construction of the theory of harm when certain conducts based on the effectiveness of trademarks incur competition concerns. By avoiding generalization of IPRs and establishing own perspectives of competition enforcement with the genuine characteristics of trademarks in consideration, administrative resources can be duly allocated so as to minimize enforcement errors in the course of applying competition law against the activities related to trademarks.