Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone

Historically, starting from the premise that trademark protection is about consumer welfare, trademark law has required trademarks to be assigned with the goodwill of the business to which they refer, to deter assignees from changing the quality of the marked products. Yet, ever since its adoption,...

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Main Author: CALBOLI, Irene
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
Subjects:
Law
Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1600
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3552/viewcontent/2._LR_FLA_Trademark_Assignment.pdf
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spelling sg-smu-ink.sol_research-35522017-04-17T09:29:49Z Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone CALBOLI, Irene Historically, starting from the premise that trademark protection is about consumer welfare, trademark law has required trademarks to be assigned with the goodwill of the business to which they refer, to deter assignees from changing the quality of the marked products. Yet, ever since its adoption, this rule has been hard to enforce because it hinges on a concept that is ambiguous and difficult to frame in a legislative context: trademark goodwill. Additionally, regardless of this rule, trading in trademarks has been a recurrent practice in the business world, and trademark practices have traditionally provided instruments to assist this trade. Unsurprisingly, the consequence has been inconsistent case law. More recently, the discrepancy between the rule and its enforcement has escalated, with the courts de facto drifting away from the goodwill requirement in assessing the validity of trademark assignments. Still, this trend has not established a clear path to what represents a valid assignment, and much confusion continues to surround the application of the rule. Arguing against this situation, this Article advocates for an amendment allowing free trademark transferability or assignment with or without goodwill. In support of this change, and despite common skepticism, this Article offers evidence that this amendment will not diminish but will likely foster consumer protection and competition in the marketplace. 2005-09-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1600 info:doi/10.2139/ssrn.676910 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3552/viewcontent/2._LR_FLA_Trademark_Assignment.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Intellectual Property Law International Trade Law Law
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Intellectual Property Law
International Trade Law
Law
spellingShingle Intellectual Property Law
International Trade Law
Law
CALBOLI, Irene
Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
description Historically, starting from the premise that trademark protection is about consumer welfare, trademark law has required trademarks to be assigned with the goodwill of the business to which they refer, to deter assignees from changing the quality of the marked products. Yet, ever since its adoption, this rule has been hard to enforce because it hinges on a concept that is ambiguous and difficult to frame in a legislative context: trademark goodwill. Additionally, regardless of this rule, trading in trademarks has been a recurrent practice in the business world, and trademark practices have traditionally provided instruments to assist this trade. Unsurprisingly, the consequence has been inconsistent case law. More recently, the discrepancy between the rule and its enforcement has escalated, with the courts de facto drifting away from the goodwill requirement in assessing the validity of trademark assignments. Still, this trend has not established a clear path to what represents a valid assignment, and much confusion continues to surround the application of the rule. Arguing against this situation, this Article advocates for an amendment allowing free trademark transferability or assignment with or without goodwill. In support of this change, and despite common skepticism, this Article offers evidence that this amendment will not diminish but will likely foster consumer protection and competition in the marketplace.
format text
author CALBOLI, Irene
author_facet CALBOLI, Irene
author_sort CALBOLI, Irene
title Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
title_short Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
title_full Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
title_fullStr Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
title_full_unstemmed Trademark Assignment "with Goodwill": A Concept whose time has gone
title_sort trademark assignment "with goodwill": a concept whose time has gone
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2005
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1600
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3552/viewcontent/2._LR_FLA_Trademark_Assignment.pdf
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