Trademarks are the foundation of competition for businesses and it grants the freedom of choice to buyers. In the jungle of products, trademarks help buyers to get exactly what they want to buy. It is the function of a trademark to give an indication to the purchaser as to the manufacturing or quality of the goods. Therefore it is necessary to protect the trademark and its distinctiveness as perceived by public. Trademark law generally deals with the protection of trademark from being infringed when unauthorized person uses identical or similar mark and causes likelihood of confusion in the minds of consumer. In today’s world where consumers purchase products not based on quality or usefulness but instead are carried away by the brand name or the trade symbol which accompany the product, protection of the distinctiveness of the trademark is of utmost importance. Brand is the primary want of consumers and a trademark of a company is a graphical representation of the brand or reputation built by the company in a definite territory within the course of time.
Certain trademarks acquire unique reputation and psychological hold in the minds of its customers through its distinctiveness which it gains through extensive sale over a period of time. They are described in general terms as well known trademarks. Distinctiveness and its ability to sell the goods for its owner are the prime features of well known trademarks. It is highly necessary to protect these well known marks from all forms of activities which lessen its distinctiveness. Likelihood of confusion caused by use of similar or identical trademarks on similar goods is the traditional benchmark of trademark infringement. However, the scope of protection of trademark has been...
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... value or distinctiveness or tarnishes the reputation of the famous marks. Even though it is not consumer-centric, well known trademarks should be protected for its psychological hold in the minds of public with regards to the goods or services with which it is associated. In the Indian context, remedy under section 29(4) of the TM Act of 1999 is to be utilized only for those trademarks that deserve such a safeguard. Provisions relating to prohibition of trademark registration of the same Act can be looked into to enhance the protection sought from section 29(4). The concept of fame and reputation of trademarks is important and the requirement for a mark to be ‘well known’ is more than mere reputation. In this direction, ITC Case has well set the path for strict compliance of ingredients required under Sec. 29(4) for action against dilution of well known trademark.
v. VIP Prods., LLC 666 F. Supp. 2d 974 (Mo., 2008) Anheuser-Busch makes a distinction between confusing and non-confusing parodies, the latter being protected as a parody. The important factors in the case were that the price point of the products was the same, they were directly competing goods and the survey showed that there was a level of confusion (30.3% were confused), in addition, consideration was placed on irreparable harm caused by the defendants use of the mark, the priority lay with the first to register the trademark, lastly the District Court considered public interest, i.e. whether the public was deceived. Similarly in Starbucks Corp v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee Inc., 588 F3d 97 (2d Cir. 2007) the court distinguished Louis Vuitton S.A. v Haute Diggty Dog, LLC, 507 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2007) by holding that if (as in the Louis Vuitton case), the mark is used in non-competing goods, the defendant conveyed that it was not the source of the plaintiffs product and if the actual use of the mark does not impair the distinctiveness of the plaintiff’s mark there may be an argument in favor of the defendant, however, if the defendant’s humor is not conveyed to the public, and does not increase the public identification of the plaintiff’s mark with its mark it will fail to establish
The one of main factors is that costumers are swayed by product itself. Where are we buying it? What is the trademark of the product? How much is it? What is the product’s appearance? How about product’s use? And, does the product have a good quality? All of these questions will appear in our mind when we are making decisions. Thus, every consumer will accord to analysis by synthesis product itself, and focus on the product that he or she most favorite. The ways of vendition and the environment of vendition impact the buying behaviors of the customers. The seller makes an attempt to choose the right way and sell the products in the right environment. Consumers will select a safe channel, and according to legal order trade with the marketer. So, having a good channel and place is very important. Usually, a well-known trademark can attract customers to buy the product, because of its influence, history, or another factors. In
With a trademark, a company can register their logo, which in turn cannot be replicated in any form without express permission from the trademark holder (Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, 2011). After building the reputation of its brand, a company can clearly define itself in a competitive marketplace with a trademarked identity that is unlike any of its competitors, giving it a clear point of difference and customer trust that will directly translate into increased sales and brand loyalty (Philpott, 2004, pp. 171 –
A trademark is one of the utmost valuable assets that an individual can possess. A trademark is not just a logo or a name, and it’s worth is not limited to the mark as such. A trademark is utilized in order to differentiate the services and goods of one trader to another. A trademark authorizes a business to exploit the market in order to entice customers, who permits them to recognize the marked good and likewise,
Passing off is not confined to that resulting from the use of registered trade marks. While the TMA 1994 protects trade marks as property immediately upon registration, the law of passing off is said to protect as property the trade goodwill that develops in the market place. Although, passing off does not confer monopoly rights, passing off and trade mark law deal with overlapping factual situations, although, s 2(2) of the TMA 1994 s 2(2) maintains passing off as a separate cause of action. Passing off seeks to protect not the claimant’s sign as such but the claimant’s customer connection or "goodwill" built up around that sign or the claimant’s business. According to Alice Blythe, “Passing off seeks to protect business goodwill, which is the trading reputation of the economic undertaking proclaimed by the sign. The business goodwill proclaimed by the sign will be perceived by consumers in a very similar way to which Laddie J described for trademarks.” This a strong similarity to trade mark
Over the years, many companies such as scrabble, Tylenol, Channel, Louis Vuitton and even Polo Ralph Lauren (PRL) Corporation have had to fight to protect their intellectual property. By looking more specifically into Polo Ralph Lauren, a fashion company that offers a range of products from clothing to home furnishings, this paper will explore trademark laws and how these laws could be advantageous one hand and limit one group and limit business abilities on another.
In brief, Canada’s history with trademarks can be traced back to pre-confederation in 1860, whereby the legislative council and Assembly of Canada adopted An Act Respecting Trademarks. Thereafter, the Trade-marks Act which is still in use today was enacted in 1953. Since that time, however, only minor changes have occurred within this Act. For instance, in 2005, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) wanted to modernize the Trade-marks Act. This included, but was not limited to changes to the regulation of non-traditional trademarks. This very brief historical overview shows Canada’s reluctance to make radical changes to the area of trademark law. This in turn creates a disadvantage for potential trade mark owners in Canada, as the law is not as comprehensive to cover areas such as non-traditional signs. Markets are constantly changing and with the innovations in technology, companies need these new and innovative ways to distinguish themselves in new ways to stay current in the marketplace and attract customers. Therefore with Canada’s stagnation in making changes in the law to in recognition of globalization and technological innovations, it puts Canadian companies at a disadvantage. However, with the passing of Bill C-35 it can be argued that slowly but surely, Canada will be on par with other jurisdictions around the world. This will shown by analyzing the current trademark law in the EU and US.
In every given business, the name itself portrays different meanings. This serves as the reference point and sometimes the basis of customers on what to expect within the company. Since personality affects product image (Langmeyer & Shank, 1994), the presence of brand helps in the realization of this concept. Traditionally, brand is a symbolic manifestation of all the information connected with a company, product, or service (Nilson, 2003; Olin, 2003). A brand is typically composed of a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images, colors, and icons (Gillooley & Varley, 2001; Laforet & Saunders, 1994)). It is believed that a brand puts an impression to the consumer on what to expect to the product or service being offered (Mere, 1995). In other application, brand may be referred as trademark, which is legally appropriate term. The brand is the most powerful weapon in the market (LePla & Parker, 1999). Brands possess personality in which people associate their experience. Oftentimes, they are related to the core values the company executes.
The ability of the management in positioning and establishing the product is a success in any company that operates for marketing and profit acquisition. Furthermore, the ability of the company and its management to complete and maintain a competitive edge among its competitor throughout the product differentiation is another basis to say that is successful. Also, innovation and the constant development on the product lines and the growing number of customers also define the corporate standing of a company. Effective branding strategy and strong brand name are an important part of the profitable business. But, all the strategies and all marketing theories can be worth nothing without the compliance of the desires of consumers.
One of the most important aspects of any business is its name. Our laws provide for a business to seek protection for its property. Congress established the trademark protections for businesses in the Trademark Act of 1881. It established a trademark law that applied to the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution (Busse, 2011). The trademark is considered one of the founding distinctions a company can own under our intellectual property laws. For consideration in this essay, we will discuss a very interesting court case that took place in the 1960’s. Back in the 1950’s, there were two restaurants legally established each with the name “Burger King.” In this case, two businesses were contending for the right to exclusively use
Many people, companies and organizations believe in the simple belief that their name is their property. Furthermore many companies and organizations that have legally registered trade mark names should be granted protected to file a domain name under their trademark without having to fight for the righ...
Companies use a collection of brand equities to represent their products in the market (Voolnes, 2012). Brand equity refers to the commercial value that is derived from the perception of consumers on any given brand name of particular products in the market as opposed to the product itself. Ataman (2003) notes that the effect to the consumer is in the brand name and not the product itself. Companies use logos, trademarks and a collection of other symbols to present this information to the customers. The use of these symbols is meant to try and capture the customer mindset so that they can be thinking about the company products at all times through the items they possess at home (Estes, Gibbert, Guest, & Mazursk, 2012). This can well be explained by use of the customer-based brand equity model that brings together the requirements for a publicly renowned brand in the market.
In China, the legislative framework for the registration for certification mark is completely different from the framework present in India. Moreover the new PRC trademark law which has come into effect from 1st May 2014 bought substantial changes to the current trademark regime in place in China. The protection afforded to well known trademark has been increased as Article 14 of the new Act provides that determination of well known trademark would be undertaken in case of infringement of well known trademark. However procedural norms regarding opposition proceedings have been drastically altered and now if the opposition fails at the Trademark Office level, which is the first level of review for an opposition, the mark would immediately proceed to registration. This is in contrast to the current state of law which allows the opponent in such a situation to appeal to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and further apply for judicial review at two levels of court. In addi...
People move away from their extended families, and traditions can fade, which is why it is important to have a trademark that easily identifies your ...
A brand identifies a seller’s product from a competitor’s product. There are three main purposes for branding product identification, which is the most important purpose, repeat sales, and new-product sales. Branding has a lot of terms that marketers use there is brand equity, global brand, and brand loyalty. Marketers also have different brand strategies that they use for different products or customers. It all depends on the consumer for them to decide which strategy they will use. The different strategies are generic products, manufacturer’s brands, private brands, individual brands, family brands, and co-branding. The branding purposes and the branding strategy make up the importance of branding.