The Trademark Act stipulates that an exclusive licensee is entitled, within the scope of the license, to exclude the proprietor and any third party from using the registered trademark, and that unless otherwise prescribed in a licensing contract, an exclusive licensee is entitled, within the scope of the license, to bring infringement proceedings in his/her own name.
Whether the so-called "sole license" is an "exclusive license" is a controversial issue.
The Intellectual Property Court pointed out in a civil litigation against trademark infringement that the exclusive license should be limited to the situations where the trademark owner will not use the licensed trademark. The IP Court took an even stricter view on the definition of the exclusive licensee and held that the wording of exclusive or its equivalent should be indicated in the license agreement. The situation where the trademark owner guarantees only granting one licensee is just a "sole-license", which should not be defined as "exclusive" license.
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