|
United Kingdom trade mark law provides protection for the use of trade marks in the UK. A trade mark is a way for one party to distinguish themselves from another. In the business world, a trade mark provides a product or organisation with an identity which cannot be imitated by its competitors. A trade mark can be a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, sound, shape, signature or any combination of these elements.〔https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/what-you-can-and-cant-register〕 In UK law, the term as defined under the Trade Marks Act 1994 is "trade mark", not "trademark", as stated in trademark laws of other countries, for example the US. == Conferred rights == The owner of a trade mark can legally defend his mark against infringements. In order to do so, the trade mark must either be registered, or have been used for a period of time so that it has acquired local distinctiveness (Prior Rights). The extent to which a trade mark is defendable depends upon the similarity of the trade marks involved, the similarity of the products or services involved and whether the trademark has acquired distinctiveness. A registered trade mark is relatively simple to defend in a court of law. An unregistered trade mark relies on the law of passing off (where one party's goods or services are presented in a way that causes confusion between them and the goods or services of another party). Rights have also been recently extended with regard to well-known trade marks. The Trade Marks Act 1994 states that "a person infringes a registered trade mark if he uses in the course of trade a sign which is identical with the trade mark in relation to goods or services which are identical with those for which it is registered" (section 10(1) of the Act). A person may also infringe a registered trade mark where the sign is similar and the goods or services are similar to those for which the mark is registered and there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public as a result (section 10(2)). A person also infringes a registered trade mark where a sign is identical but the goods are dissimilar if the trade mark has a reputation in the UK and its use takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the mark’s distinctive character or reputation (section 10(3)). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United Kingdom trade mark law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|