\(
\def\WIPO{World Intellectual Property Organisation}
\)
Files
Details
Title
Submarine Trademarks.
Variant Title
Economic Research Working Paper No. 51
Item Type
Working paper
Description
41 pages ; [28] cm.
ISSN
2957-8256
Summary
Companies use trademarks to protect their brands from outright imitation or competition by confusingly similar products. However, publication of trademark filings by the trademark office discloses information about a firm's new product or service. This creates a trade-off between legal protection and disclosure of information. We analyze the trade-off through the lens of "submarine trademarks" in the U.S. - submarine trademarks are trademarks whose publication and hence disclosure to the public is strategically delayed. This is achieved through a particular international filing strategy that is often combined with the use of shell companies to further conceal the trademark filing. These submarine strategies allow companies to benefit from legal trademark protection while reducing the risk of inadvertent disclosure of information. We provide the first systematic evidence of submarine trademarks and explore both their determinants and their effectiveness in reducing the disclosure of information.
Series
Type of File
Print publication.
Series
Economics Working Papers.
Translations
Published
Geneva, Switzerland : [World Intellectual Property Organization], 2018.
Language
English
Copyright Information
License: CC BY 3.0 IGO
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