When Trademarks Overlap with Other IP Rights

The overlap between trademarks and other intellectual property rights is everywhere—whether in registration, enforcement or commercialization. For example:

• A product design can be protected as a two- or three-dimensional mark, trade dress, design patent, registered design, unregistered design or a work of applied art under copyright law.
• An artistic work can be registered as a trademark, whether or not it is protected under copyright law.
• A geographical indication can be registered as such or protected as a collective or certification mark, under passing off or unfair competition law.
• A trademark can be subject to unfair competition law, comparative advertising statutes or consumer protection laws. A trademark, as used in blogs and social media, can involve rights of privacy and rights of publicity.

It is essential that trademark and other IP practitioners have a solid understanding of the many opportunities and pitfalls of intersecting rights. The intersection of these rights also raises fundamental questions about the nature of trademark law and its relationship to the other areas of IP protection, and how policy should best address these overlaps.

Join the International Trademark Association (INTA) in Munich, Germany, on December 8–9, 2014, at the Westin Grand Munich Hotel for two days of information-packed, advanced-level sessions. Presented by leading authorities in their field, these sessions will deal with these and other emerging issues concerning the overlap of trademark rights with other IP rights.