Trademark Law

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Trademark Law – International

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a not-for-profit membership association of more than 5,500 trademark owners and professionals, from more than 190 countries, dedicated to the support and advancement of trademarks and related intellectual property as elements of fair and effective national and international commerce.

Registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world is governed by two independent treaties – the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid System is a centrally administered system (by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO) for obtaining a bundle of trademark registrations in separate jurisdictions, creating in effect a basis for an “international registration” of marks. This guide is intended to highlight the resources and important issues encountered in using the Madrid System for the international registration of marks.

The increasing globalization of business brings with it a greater need for harmonization of trademark law and policy, central to which must be consistency in operation and application. Trademark owners doing business in diverse corners of the world, which may be governed by different legal systems, must have reasonable expectations of the scope of their trademark rights, as well as how and to what extent such rights will be enforced.

The aim of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) is to approximate and streamline national and regional trademark registration procedures. This is achieved through the simplification and harmonization of certian features of those procedures, thus making trademark applications and the administration of trademark registrations in multiple jurisdictions less complex and more predictable.

Another treaty of some importance affecting international practice, the Trademark Law Treaty (“TLT”) was adopted on October 27, 1994 and signed in Geneva on October 28, 1994 by thirty-nine member countries of WIPO. The Treaty entered into force on August 1, 1996, three months after the date on which the Treaty was ratified by a minimum of five countries. The Treaty is now in effect in a number of countries.

Trademarks are generally distinctive symbols, pictures, or words that sellers affix to distinguish and identify the origin of their products. Trademark status may also be granted to distinctive and unique packaging, color combinations, building designs, product styles, and overall presentations.

Find information on trademark legislation by country.

The World Trademark Report is a daily email service that provides Newsletter Updates on trademark developments from over 60 jurisdictions. The Newsletter Updates are written by a panel of 200 leading trademark lawyers from both national and international law firms. They are written in a clear and concise manner, and are designed specifically for senior lawyers in industry and private practice, as well as government and regulatory officials.

Trademark Law in the US

A trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase, used to identify a particular manufacturer or seller’s products and distinguish them from the products of another. When such marks are used to identify services rather than products, they are called service marks, although they are generally treated just the same as trademarks.

Full text at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office website.

Trademark law governs the use of a device (including a word, phrase, symbol, product shape, or logo) by a manufacturer or merchant to identify its goods and to distinguish those goods from those made or sold by another.

The Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), adopted on October 27, 1994, entered into force on August 1, 1996. Thirty-four states, including the United States, are party to the TLT as of September 1, 2006. The TLT was enacted to simplify procedures in the application and registration process and to harmonize trademark procedures in different countries. The TLT harmonizes procedures of national trademark offices by establishing the maximum requirements a contracting party can impose.

Full text of all Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Acts.

The United States trademark laws, when combined with our federal copyright as well as state and federal unfair competition and similar laws, create a body of protection for intellectual property owners. Whether you are such an owner, want to become such an owner or wish to use another party’s creative property, you must be familiar with such laws in order to both market your properties and avoid infringing upon the rights of others.

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

The Trademark Blog is maintained by the Law Offices of Martin Schwimmer, a micro-boutique practicing trademark, copyright and domain name law in Westchester, New York. Mr. Schwimmer is also of counsel to the law firm of Moses & Singer LLP in New York, NY.

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to present its views on the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks adopted on March 27, 2007 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty.

Trademark Law in Asia

Members of the media love to write about China’s failure to protect foreign company intellectual property (IP), but those articles can be misleading. These articles often fail to state whether the foreign company actually registered its IP in China at all and they nearly always fail to distinguish between the various types of IP eligible for protection.

In response to startling economic growth, a flood of trademark applications by local and international brand owners, and increasing infringement problems, the Chinese government is updating the nation’s Trademark Law.

Domain name disputes occur when the registrant of a domain name carries out activities that infringe on another person’s rights to a mark (including a trademark). In general, domain name disputes may be classified according to the domain registrant’s infringing activities. Thus, domain name disputes in Korea can be divided into four types.

The Trademarks Law does not differentiate between foreign and local trademarks. A trademark which is registered or in use in Pakistan receives the same protection whether it is owned by a Pakistani company or a foreign company. However, the Pakistani courts have extended protection to well-known foreign trademarks far beyond the traditional scope of such protection.

HKTMA.ORG (ex-Hong Kong Trademark Association) is a non-profit professional organization and provides services to the members in trademark application and registration to enhance the intellectual property protection via the use of advanced information technology and online web-based system. HKTMA provides instant online access to explore the intellectual property information, and technical databases that enable the member to keep track of the development of intellectual property and monitor their trademark records and status via the web-based system.

Trademarks play a vital role in day to day choices made by the consuming public. Consider the effect of trademarks on those who purchase goods and receive services, consumers. Consumers rely on trademarks, for example, to more easily facilitate repeat purchases of goods or services based on a previous pleasurable experience or a manufacturer’s reputation for quality. Trademarks enable consumers to make repeated purchases without extensive research.

On June 10, 2003, the Directorate General of Customs of the Ministry of Finance, issued the “Rules for Customs Execution of Trademark Right & Copyright Protection Measures.” The Rules are in line with the continue protection of intellectual property rights policy and the newly amended Trademark Law and Copyright Law. These Rules will serve as a guideline to customs officials in implementing trademark and copyright measures, and will help enhance anti-piracy efforts.

Kazuko Fujita and lessons for trademark registration in Japan. Kazuko Fujita is founder and director of the LIL (Legal Interface Liaison) International Patent & Trademark Firm, responsible for an office of 30 staff, a fully qualified benrishi (Japanese patent attorney), a wife and a mother of two children.

Adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People’s Congress on 23 August 1982, revised for the first time according to the Decision on the Amendment of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the 30th Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People’s Congress, on 22 February 1993, and revised for the second time according to the Decision on the Amendment of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on 27 October 2001.

The Intellectual Property Department’s database of trade mark records contains records of registered trade marks and trade mark applications pending before the Trade Marks Registry.

Trademark Law in Europe

ECTA brings together all those persons practising professionally in the Member States of the European Community in the field of trade marks, designs and related IP matters. These professionals are trade mark advisors, trade mark attorneys, lawyers practising in industry and all others who can be considered specialist practitioners in these areas. ECTA is therefore, an association made up of individuals coming from industry and from private practice, who have a common interest concerning the protection of trade marks and designs in the European Union.

The community trademark was established by the European Union to provide a unified trademark for the entire European Community. Once acquired, the mark covers all 15 countries of the European Union. The mark is used to enforce trademark rights in the entire region.

MARQUES, which was founded in 1987, is the association of European trade mark owners. MARQUES represents trade mark owners’ interests before the relevant EU and other international bodies in all relevant areas. It also organises networking and educational events and promotes communication between brand owners in Europe. The MARQUES website provides a wide range of information and general IP resources of use to both trade mark owners and legal practitioners.

The Office’s task is to promote and manage trade marks and designs within the European Union. It carries out registration procedures for titles to Community industrial property. It keeps public registers of these titles. It shares with the courts in Member States of the European Union the task of pronouncing judgment on requests for invalidation of registered titles.

This is an experimental site dedicated to European trade mark law and practice by friends and supporters of MARQUES, the Association of European Trade Mark Owners. MARQUES is not responsible for any of its content.

Legislation and articles by The EU Single Market.

European trade mark law is governed by national law in the countries which make up Europe, together with European Law within those European countries which are also EU member states. Trade marks may be registered within individual countries, or across the whole of the EU (by means of a Community Trade Mark).

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