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TRADEMARK ACTIONS NEED NOT BE SUSPENDED FOR INVALIDATION PROCEEDINGS
Article 60 of the Trademark Law provides that if civil or criminal proceedings concerning the ex-clusivity of a trademark are instituted while the trademark in question is already the subject of an invalidation action, then the proceedings must be suspended until the outcome of the invalidation action is confirmed. However, courts have taken differing views as to whether such proceedings must be suspended if an invalidation action is initiated after they are already pending. In a 1999 ruling on a motion to set aside the judgment in a civil damages suit for trademark infringement, the Supreme Court held that where a trademark invalidation action is instituted when a civil ac-tion in respect of trademark rights is already pending, Article 60 of the Trademark Law does not apply, and the civil proceedings should not be suspended.