Developments in trade marks law have called into question a variety of basic features, as well as bolder extensions, of legal protection. Other disciplines can help us think about fundamental issues such as: what is a trade mark? What does it do? What should be the scope of its protection? This volume assembles essays examining trade marks and brands from a multiplicity of fields: from business history, marketing, linguistics, legal history, philosophy, sociology and geography. Each chapter pairs lawyers' and non-lawyers' perspectives, so that each commentator addresses and critiques his or her counterpart's analysis. The perspectives of non-legal fields are intended to enrich legal academics' and practitioners' reflections about trade marks, and to expose lawyers, judges and policy-makers to ideas, concepts and methods that could prove to be of particular importance in the development of positive law.

Trade Marks, Brands and Competitiveness brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines to provide a critical account of the contribution of branding to economic growth, the relationship between trademark law and brand strategy, and the building and repositioning of individual brands as case studies in the effects of competition.

This guide is the first in a series of guides on “Intellectual Property for Business.” It is devoted to trademarks, a central element in the marketing and branding strategy of any company. It seeks to explain trademarks from a business perspective.

Increasingly, firms use licensing to exploit and commercialize trademarks internationally. In a globalized market, the free flow of goods and services by means of licensing requires detailed knowledge of national legal provisions and principles that apply to agreements of this type. This chapter-by-chapter comparative overview on the law and application of trademark licensing worldwide – including chapters on such key commercial jurisdictions as the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, and Japan – is written by a team of experienced and distinguished attorneys, each representing a particular country. Each contributor describes and analyses legal challenges and offers practical guidance on licensing issues in his or her national jurisdiction. Within this framework, each chapter discusses such issues and topics as the following: country-specific regulations on trademark licensing; particular legal requirements to be complied with prior to entering into a license agreement; antitrust legislation affecting the scope of a license agreement; breach of a trademark licensing agreement; circumstances under which a breach of contract also constitutes a trademark infringement; permitted extent of non-compete or non-challenge clauses; licensee’s standing to sue third parties for trademark infringement; effect of invalidation or expiry of the licensed trademark on the agreement; and licensee’s right to claim entitlement to goodwill in the trademark, or a right to compensation, for investments made in the trademark. Because of the broad range and variety of countries covered, the book will be welcomed by legal practitioners dealing or coming into contact with trademark licensing in practically any jurisdiction. Taken together, the chapters provide invaluable insights into the similarities and differences among the covered jurisdictions, helping trademark holders and their counsel to understand the particulars of a specific market and deciding whether to enter it or not. It will also be valuable as a comprehensive resource for academic researchers or policymakers interested in the international harmonization of intellectual property licensing law.

In the European Union, courts have been expanding the enforcement of intellectual property rights by employing injunctions to compel intermediaries to provide assistance, despite no allegation of wrongdoing against these parties. These prospective injunctions, designed to prevent future harm, thus hold parties accountable where no liability exists. Effectively a new type of regulatory tool, these injunctions are distinct from the conventional secondary liability in tort. At present, they can be observed in orders to compel website blocking, content filtering, or disconnection, but going forward, their use is potentially unlimited. This book outlines the paradigmatic shift this entails for the future of the Internet and analyzes the associated legal and economic opportunities and problems.