Finnegan's monthly review of essential decisions, key developments, evolving trends in trademark law, and more.
January 2009 Issue
Unregistrable
Mondo Trademark
I write this month’s column from a shoreline in Zanzibar, peering out at the Indian Ocean at dawn, while a group of boys do calisthenics on the beach, with a flock of crows adding cacophonous melody to the rhythm of the waves. We have come here after spending several days in the interior of Tanzania, where, en route to the Serengeti on a visit with friends who live here, we travelled through a collection of small towns, hamlets, and villages. As we passed by rows of brick, concrete, stucco, cinder block, and wooden structures, what stood out were the prominence and ubiquity of brand names. Coke and Pepsi logos battled for position on practically every available inch of retail wall space. It seemed that no matter how modest or desperate a business might appear to our jaded American-consumer eyes, these storefronts were prime battlegrounds in the cola wars, which apparently have gone global. Not to be outdone were the cell phone providers, Voda, Tigo, and others, all intent on displaying the colorful banners of the digital age throughout towns located in the shadows of Masai villages whose dung-covered huts and pastoral traditions seem not far removed from the Biblical era.
Unregistrable
Mondo Trademark
I write this month’s column from a shoreline in Zanzibar, peering out at the Indian Ocean at dawn, while a group of boys do calisthenics on the beach, with a flock of crows adding cacophonous melody to the rhythm of the waves. We have come here after spending several days in the interior of Tanzania, where, en route to the Serengeti on a visit with friends who live here, we travelled through a collection of small towns, hamlets, and villages. As we passed by rows of brick, concrete, stucco, cinder block, and wooden structures, what stood out were the prominence and ubiquity of brand names. Coke and Pepsi logos battled for position on practically every available inch of retail wall space. It seemed that no matter how modest or desperate a business might appear to our jaded American-consumer eyes, these storefronts were prime battlegrounds in the cola wars, which apparently have gone global. Not to be outdone were the cell phone providers, Voda, Tigo, and others, all intent on displaying the colorful banners of the digital age throughout towns located in the shadows of Masai villages whose dung-covered huts and pastoral traditions seem not far removed from the Biblical era.
To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, “What’s the deal with all these trademarks?” I don’t profess to have the answer, only some thoughts. People respond to and respect brands. They enliven and enrich our lives, adding color and excitement to the mundane and ordinary. They inspire loyalty, they connote and impart prestige and status, and they are aspirational. Even painted on a windowless storefront facade, the power of the bright, familiar Pepsi logo is undiminished, while the Voda and Tigo cell phone brands underscore Thomas Friedman’s thesis that, indeed, “The World Is Flat.” But of course, brands are no stranger to this part of the world. The Masai herders have been branding their cattle for centuries.
