Trade Marks and Business Organisation

Firms use trade marks to distinguish their goods or services from rival products on the market. When a firm registers a particular sign as its trade mark,

1

it acquires the exclusive right to use it in order to identify products of the designated kind within the territory of registration.

2

A trade mark gives products a distinctive identity, under its owner’s exclusive control, and can provide a convenient identifier and reference point for acquiring and conveying information about these products and for entering transactions. Such an identity roughly equates to the marketing concept of a “brand” and provides a focus for “goodwill”.

3

Moreover, this identity, and thus the goodwill focused upon it, need not be tied to a particular firm or to any fixed set of production arrangements.