Intellectual Property-Trademark

Trademark is a sign which serves to distinguish the goods or services of an industrial or a commercial enterprise or a group of such enterprise. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name, word, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements.(Wikipedia, 2007)

Trademark law protects the rights of business who use distinctive names, designs, logo, slogans, signifier to identify and distinguish their products and services. This protection can be last as long as the company uses the trademark in commerce.(Intellectual Property Law-Trademark Law)

Trademarked is a way to protects the rights of the registered companies. (Trademark Act 1976)We know that trade marked can be infringed, and there is a lot of the products in the market confused customers from buying it. For an example, we all knew that Nike is a good product and another produce a product with the logo of Nike on it. Therefore, it would be an infringed on a regular basis.

Trademark does not expired if it is registered, a trademarked can only be "abandoned" or its registration can be canceled or revoked if the marks is not continuously used. (Wikipedia, 2007) In other words, it can be last as long as the company uses the trademarked in commerce. For example, Coca-Cola has been protected for over a century.

Trademarked is an important issues for a company to protect their own rights and avoiding others who trying to get advantage from it. Especially for famous trademarked such as Mcdonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola etc.

Justice Charles L.Woodbury wrote that "only in this way can we protect intellectual property, the labors of the mind, productions and interests are as much a man's own...as the wheat he cultivate, or the flocks he rear." (1 Woodb. & M. 53, 3 West.L.J. 151, 7 F.Cas. 197, No. 3662, 2 Robb.Pat.Cas. 303, Merw.Pat.Inv. 414)

Intellectual Property

References:

Wikipedia 2007, Trademark, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark>

Lawyerment.com.my 2001, Intellectual Property-Trademark Law, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://www.lawyerment.com.my/intellectual/trademark.shtml>

Richard. A 9th edition, Patent, Copyright, and trademark, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=tWqHSZwICqUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=trademark>

Methenitis. M 2008, Law of the game of joystick, Trademark infringement, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/law-of-the-game-on-joystiq-trademark-infringement/>

Wikipedia 2008, Intellectual Property, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property>

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Kedai Online Media Jaya 2008, Fiqh Al-Harakah Jilid 2, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://mediajaya.com/kedaibukuonline/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_5&products_id=50>

Intellectual Property Corporation Of Malaysia 2008, Trademark, viewed 11 November 2008, <http://www.mipc.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=106&Itemid=0>