Minister Rockhill
to the Secretary of State.
American Legation,
Peking, November 10,
1905.
No. 148.]
Sir: As a further acknowledgment of your cabled
instruction received November 7, asking me what progress has been made
in negotiating for trade-mark regulations with China, I have the honor
to report as follows:
On receipt of the department’s instruction No. 42, of August 17, 1905, I
wrote the foreign representatives interested in the preparation of a new
system of trade-mark regulations to be agreed upon with China that our
Government considered that provision should be made to the end that
registrations effected by American owners of trade-marks under the
trade-mark regulations heretofore published should not be impaired.
On the 24th of October I received from the German minister the inclosed
note, in which he informs me that he and his colleagues find it
difficult to agree to the views of the United States as conveyed in my
note.
Before transmitting this note to you I had wished, in order to save time,
to include in it a report which I have asked for of our consuls-general
at Shanghai and at Tientsin, stating how many, if any, Americans have
registered trade-marks under the regulations heretofore published by
China. I am inclined to think that very few have been so registered, and
it might be possible in that case to have specific mention made of the
fact of their registration in the new regulations or in some other
official way which would enable us to meet the wishes of the other
interested powers.
I have the honor, etc.
[Page 249]
[Inclosure 1.]
Minister Rockhill to the German
Minister.
Mr. Minister and Dear Colleague: Mr.
Coolidge, under date of April 26, had the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of a note which you and certain of your colleagues had sent
him on the 23d of the same month, inclosing copy of a proposed
measure for the protection of trade-marks in China. He further
informed your excellency that your communication and its inclosures
would be submitted to the American Government.
I am now in receipt of an instruction from the Department of State in
which it is stated that the Government of the United States found
the “project” submitted by you in accordance with the general
construction of the trade-mark laws of the United States and most
European countries, and that it is not objectionable in any material
regard, excepting section 25, which reads as follows:
“All demands of registration made by means of the competent Chinese
authorities before going into force of the present regulations shall
be considered as having been made the day of the regulations going
into force.”
As this section may destroy the effect of registrations effected by
American owners of trade-marks under the trade-mark regulations
heretofore published, it would appear just that the effect of such
regulations should not be impaired.
As the Government of the United States deems it most desirable that
some adequate system be adopted by the Chinese Government at the
earliest possible date, it offers no objection to the adoption of
the project further than to the possible effect of section 25, as
herein pointed out.
Trusting that you will kindly submit the views of my Government to
those of our honorable colleagues who elaborated the project with
you, I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, Mr.
Minister, and dear colleague, the assurance of my highest
consideration.
(Signed)
W. W.
Hockhill,
etc.[Inclosure
2—Translation.]
The German minister
to Minister Rockhill.
Peking, October 24,
1905.
Mr. Minister and Dear Colleague: I have not
failed to communicate to those of our colleagues who are interested
in the matter, the letter which you were pleased to write me on the
16th October concerning trade-mark regulations.
We were pleased to see that your Government approved the great part
of the proposal which we have submitted to China; we have carefully
gone over the only modification suggested by the Department of State
and we would have been gratified to meet it, but to our great regret
it has seemed to us difficult, considering the instructions of our
respective Governments, to agree that registrations made before the
putting into effect of the regulations should antedate said putting
in force. It has seemed preferable to us to obviate all discussion,
to hold them all as dating from the day on which the registration
goes in force.
We would be obliged to you to again call the attention of your
Government to this matter, and we hope that it will be pleased to
find some means to take into account the above considerations.
In sending this communication to you in the name of the
representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Austria, and my
own, I avail myself of the opportunity to renew to you the
assurances of my high consideration.
(Signed)
A. v. Mumm,
etc.
