Harmful Trademarks
Towards a New Understanding of Moral Bars in GCC Registration
Abstract
Between 2013-2017, around 115 EU trademark applications were rejected on morality and public order grounds. In the GCC (six Arab and Islamic countries), anecdotal evidence suggests some refusals have bemused foreign applicants and highlighted cultural blindspots. In this context, this work examines how three Arab Gulf states that have Islamic law as the main source of legislation and large expatriate communities, apply moral bars to trademark registration. It draws comparison with Western jurisdictions. Three main questions are explored: 1) To what extent do immoral or borderline trademarks/goods proceed to registration in conservative Islamic countries that apply trademark law in conformity with Shari’a law? 2) What reasoning is guiding decisions? 3) Can a concept of ‘harm’ improve our understanding of the power of trademarks and thus the moral thresholds that countries set?
The author is an innovation and IP commercialisation professional. She acquired a passion for trademark law while completing a Master of Laws in ‘Intellectual Property and Competition Law’ in Munich, Germany. She is now pursuing a career in trademark law in the UK.
Zusammenfassung
Zwischen 2013 und 2017 wurden rund 115 EU-Markenanmeldungen aus Gründen der Moral und der öffentlichen Ordnung abgelehnt. Im Golf-Kooperationsrat (GKR; sechs arabische und islamische Länder) deuten Anekdoten darauf hin, dass einige dieser Ablehnungen ausländische Bewerber verwirrt und kulturelle blinde Flecken hervorgehoben haben. In diesem Zusammenhang wird in dieser Arbeit untersucht, wie drei arabische Golfstaaten, deren Hauptgesetzgeber das islamische Recht ist und die große Auswanderergemeinschaften haben, ein moralisches Verbot der Markenregistrierung auferlegen. Die Autorin stellt Vergleiche mit westlichen Rechtsordnungen an und untersucht drei Hauptfragen: 1) In welchem Umfang werden unmoralische oder grenzüberschreitende Marken/Waren in konservativen islamischen Ländern, die Markenrecht in Übereinstimmung mit dem Scharia-Recht anwenden, registriert? 2) Durch welche Argumentation werden Entscheidungen in dieser Hinsicht gesteuert? 3) Kann ein Begriff des „Schadens“ unser Verständnis der Macht von Marken und damit die von den Ländern festgelegten moralischen Schwellenwerte verbessern?
Die Autorin ist Expertin für Innovation und IP-Vermarktung. Während ihres Master-Studiums im Bereich des Gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes und des Wettbewerbsrechts in München entdeckte sie ihre Leidenschaft für das Markenrecht. Sie strebt nun eine Karriere im Bereich Markenrecht in Großbritannien an.
Schlagworte
trademark law harmful trademarks trademark moral bars GCC registration new understanding morality and public order harm cultural norms Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) immoral trademarks- 11–14 Introduction 11–14
- 93–94 Conclusion 93–94
- 97–103 List of Works Cited 97–103
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