However, compared with economically developed countries, China's packaging legal research has lagged behind. At present, there is no complete packaging method in China. The research on packaging design only stays at the technical level, and rarely involves the legal issues in packaging design.
The market economy is the legal economy. After China's accession to the WTO, China's packaging industry will have greater room for development and will also face greater challenges. In line with international regulations and standards, the study of legal issues in packaging design will promote the steady and benign integration of China's packaging industry into the international market.
The legal issues in packaging design mainly concern legal issues such as trademark rights, patent rights, copyright, the suppression of unfair competition rights and protection of consumer rights, environmental protection, and product quality standards. Specifically, these legal issues include:
1, packaging design and trademark rights. This is the most abundant content of legal issues involved in packaging design. Such as international treaties and extraterritorial laws, customs, commodity decoration, geographical indications, and prohibition of well-known trademarks. The new Trademark Law has made significant changes to Trips ("trade-related intellectual property agreement"), such as adding three-dimensional trademarks, color combination trademarks, etc., are worthy of careful consideration and concern for packaging designers.
2, packaging design and design protection. The Paris Convention is a minimum requirement that all member states must protect industrial designs. However, the way in which countries protect industrial designs is not the same, and our country protects designs in the patent law. However, the acquisition of such rights is conditional, and Trips protects this right while also restricting the conditions. Packaging design must involve these legal content.
3, packaging design and copyright. If the packaging design involves art works, it may enter the field of copyright protection, or there may be intricate legal relationships involving the overlapping protection of trademarks, patents, and copyrights.
4, packaging design and anti-unfair competition. Commodity packaging and product ontology for sale exist as a product for market exchange. The use of packaging to participate in market competition is a common means of market competition. However, the use of false text descriptions in packaging design, certification marks or production license signs that falsify or fraudulently use quality products will involve the contents of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.
5, packaging design and protection of consumer rights. Safeguarding consumer rights is the most essential ethical connotation of packaging design. However, increasing the virtual volume inside the packaging, reducing the number of commodities, and packaging design of counterfeit and inferior products are not uncommon in real life. Strengthening the study of consumer rights protection in packaging design is a rational demand of the rule of law society.
6, packaging design and international standards. There is still a certain gap between the international standardization of China's commodity packaging and that of ISO, which has blocked the channels for commodities to enter the international market. Especially in the implementation of the quality standard ISO9000, the environmental protection standard ISO14000, the safety standard ISO16000 and so more obvious. However, China has officially become a member of the International Organization for Standardization Organization's Packaging Technology Committee (ISO/TC122), which has created conditions for China to implement international packaging standards.
7, packaging design and environmental protection. Developing green packaging, protecting the environment, and promoting the sustainable development of the society is a hot issue of global concern. “Green packaging†should start with packaging design. For example, the selection of packaging materials, the disposal of packaging waste, and the appropriateness of packaging should be There are laws to follow and laws to follow.
8, the issue of packaging legislation. In the market economy and society, all the behaviors of the market entities must be subject to corresponding norms of behavior, that is, legal norms. The contribution of packaging legislation in economically developed countries to the development of the packaging industry has also proved this. As an important industry in the national economy, it is necessary for us to formulate an industry-wide packaging law to fill the gap in China's packaging law. Its legislative practice can draw lessons from international conventions, advanced experience and technology of the packaging legislation in developed countries, and comprehensively consider all legal issues in China's packaging industry.
The packaging industry has now become one of the "sunrise industries" in the world economic development. With the advancement of its economic status, the economically developed countries have all attached great importance to the legislation of packaging design and its research work. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan have all developed their own packaging laws in accordance with international packaging regulations and standards. They have also set up "packaging regulations" courses in the university's packaging profession, and have enthusiastically discussed the legal issues in packaging design in the media. Promote the healthy development of the packaging industry.