noRWAY
noRWAY
ConCERn foR ConsUMERs' BEst IntEREsts
sIMPLY DoEs not BELonG In tRADEMARK LAW
they are registrable as such, but the average consumer is not in the habit In my view, therefore, concern for consumers’ best interests simply does
of making assumptions about the origin of products on the basis of them. not belong in trademark law. Not even the provisions that cover deceptive
Th at is probably nonsense; I believe that the average consumer is in precisely marks and marks that go against public interest belong there. Consumers
that habit. Th is is, however, beside the point, which is that these marks are are already protected in other acts of law under which they can actually
refused protection out of a misunderstood consideration for the consumer. make substantiated claims—acts governed by other authorities more
competent in assessing consumer rights. Th ere is no need to include a
It is obvious that a trademark that is completely devoid of distinctive
token consideration for their (or our) well-being in an act of law designed,
character may well be inferior. It may not catch the eye of consumers in
essentially, to regulate who gets to monopolise what sign.
the same way as other marks would; in fact, it may not catch the eye of
consumers at all. It may be diffi cult to remember and diffi cult to recognise,
and it may therefore prove more diffi cult to work into a solid brand name
or famous slogan.
Steinar Lie is an attorney at law at Bryn Aarfl ot in Norway. He can be
contacted at: sl@baa.no
But as long as there is no quality criterion in trademark law, why should
trademark examiners or the courts be the judge of whether a mark ‘deserves’
to be registered or not, based on the assumed interest of some imaginary
Steinar Lie is an attorney at law at Bryn Aarfl ot in norway. He
consumer? Why is this decision not left to those who are prepared to spend
has a background in literary science and languages, and worked
good money to secure their exclusive rights to a given trademark? If there
for many years as a translator. He fi nished law school at the
is no current or future need to keep that mark free for the use of other
University of oslo in 2002, specialising in IP law. He subsequently
undertakings, the ‘fi rst come, fi rst served’ rule should prevail. Is the mark
worked at the norwegian Industrial Property offi ce (nIPo), and at
diffi cult to memorise? Is it negligible? Is it just off -beat and strange? Who oHIM, where he was a seconded national expert on trademark
cares? It either works on the market or it does not. And aft er all, it is but the law. He joined Bryn Aarfl ot in 2008.
applicant who stands to lose if the mark turns out to be useless.
120 World Intellectual Property Review Digest 2009 www.worldipreview.com
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