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The Problem of Earlier Rights: Evidence from the European Trademark System

Author

Listed:
  • Georg von Graevenitz

    (School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.)

  • Stuart J.H. Graham

    (Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Amanda Myers

    (United States Patent & Trademark Office.)

Abstract
Laws protecting intellectual property rights balance interests of earlier and later rights holders. The tradeoffs are well established for patents. We argue that similar considerations apply to trademarks. Jurisdictions differ in how strongly they protect earlier rights, with EU trademark law protecting the registered use of an earlier right for much longer than US trademark law. Laws in both jurisdictions seek to eventually align registered use of earlier rights with their actual use, creating space on the trademark register for later rights. Data from a recent reform of trademark fees reveal that registered and actual use of EU marks frequently fail to align as intended. We analyse trademark opposition cases at EUIPO to test whether this creates costs for owners of later rights. We find that a subset of firms relies on the protection afforded to earlier rights to permanently expand the breadth of their marks beyond actual use, limiting access to trademarks for later applicants. We discuss policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Georg von Graevenitz & Stuart J.H. Graham & Amanda Myers, 2020. "The Problem of Earlier Rights: Evidence from the European Trademark System," Working Papers 99, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cgs:wpaper:99
    as

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    File URL: http://cgr.sbm.qmul.ac.uk/CGRWP99.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Georg von Graevenitz, 2013. "Trade mark cluttering--evidence from EU enlargement," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 721-745, July.
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    4. Landes, William M & Posner, Richard A, 1987. "Trademark Law: An Economic Perspective," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 265-309, October.
    5. Bajgar, Matej & Berlingieri, Giuseppe & Calligaris, Sara & Criscuolo, Chiara & Timmis, Jonathan, 2019. "Industry concentration in Europe and North America," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103427, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. James Bessen & Eric Maskin, 2009. "Sequential innovation, patents, and imitation," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(4), pages 611-635, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carolina Castaldi, 2024. "The geography of urban innovation beyond patents only: New evidence on large and secondary cities in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(7), pages 1248-1272, May.

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