The Competitive Significance of Collective Trademarks
Jan Rosén (ed.), Individualism and Collectiveness in Intellectual Property Law, Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham/Northampton, 2011, 241-254
9 Pages Posted: 2 Oct 2010 Last revised: 10 Feb 2016
Date Written: September 30, 2010
Abstract
In its 2009 L’Oreal decision, the ECJ held that the protected functions of a trademark include not only the essential function to guarantee the origin of goods or services, but also its other functions, “in particular that of guaranteeing the quality of goods or services and those of communication, investment or advertising”. This article explores whether the new functional paradigm of L’Oreal also applies to collective marks or whether the ownership structure and competitive significance of this type of trademark requires a different treatment compared to individual trademarks. To this end, three sub-categories of collective trademarks are distinguished: conventional collective trademarks, collective guarantee marks and collective geographical indication (GI) marks.
Keywords: collective trademarks, collective guarantee marks, collective geographical indication marks
JEL Classification: O34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation