Cheese trademarks: Italian dairy firms’ practices during the 20th century

Abstract

Trademarks have recently become a very useful source for business historians. This longitudinal analysis of the twentieth-century trademarking activities of the most important Italian dairy firms of the era, namely Galbani, Invernizzi and Locatelli, demonstrates that trademarks were used both as a protective weapon against competitors and as an innovation carrier to open up new markets. This article also argues that trademark registrations had another dual purpose – not only were they used as buffers against negative shocks but they were also used to support periods of economic growth. A fundamental finding of this work is that trademarks, across various types of registrations, were closely connected to the features on which the companies based their sales strategies.     

Marking your trade: Cultural factors in the prolongation of trademarks

Trademarks protecting the brand name and associations are crucial in a brand's strategy, but little is known about the factors that determine a trademark's prolongation. To explain the prolongation of trademarks, the research estimated a multilevel hazard model accounting for trademark characteristics, firm's characteristics, and firm's country of origin national culture. The dataset comprises a census of 2911 trademarks in the US software security industry across an eight-year period, belonging to firms originating from 11 countries. The results indicate that a firm's culture of origin has a systematic effect on the types of trademark the firm is more likely to prolong and on the length of the prolongation. The age of the trademark, the number of categories where a particular trademark is present, and the age of the firm increase the likelihood of a trademark's prolongation. Larger and more innovative firms tend to terminate their trademarks earlier.     

TRIPS协定下的非传统商标注册义务

TRIPS协定第15条第一次在国际层面上采取宽泛的方式对商标进行了定义——任何标记或标记的组合,只要能够将一企业的商品和服务区别于其他企业的商品或服务,即能够构成商标。该定义没有限制可以构成商标的标记的类型,仅仅关注标记是否具有显著性。虽然TRIPS协定采取的宽泛定义以及非穷尽性的列举方式为非传统商标的保护提供了广阔的法律空间,实践中仍然存在很多理论问题需要明晰:TRIPS协定保护的非传统商标类型、各国注册保护非传统商标义务的性质、TRIPS协定下非传统商标注册义务的例外情况、我国非传统商标保护义务现状和改革需要。     

An ‘Algorithmic Links with Probabilities’ Concordance for Trademarks with an Application Towards Bilateral IP Flows

Trademarks (TMs) shape the competitive landscape of markets for goods and services in all countries. As a key element of branding, they can inform consumers about the quality and content of goods and services. Yet, researchers are largely unable to conduct rigorous empirical analysis of TMs in the global economy because TM data and economic data are organised differently and cannot be analysed jointly at the industry or sector level. We propose an ‘algorithmic links with probabilities’ (ALP) approach to match TM data to economic data and enable joint analysis with these data. Specifically, we construct a NICE class‐level concordance that maps TM data into trade and industry categories forward and backward. This concordance allows researchers to analyse differences in TM usage across both economic and TM sectors. We apply this ALP concordance for TMs to characterise patterns in TM registrations across countries and industries and to investigate some key determinants of international technology flows by comparing bilateral TM registrations and bilateral patent grants. We find that international patenting and TM flows are jointly determined by trade‐related influences with significant differences in intellectual property usage across industry sectors and income levels.     

从Google被词典收录再谈驰名商标淡化问题

随着经济全球化进程的加快,进一步加强对驰名商标的保护已成当务之急。驰名商标淡化是近年来国内外较为常见的一种特殊商标侵权行为,它减少、削弱驰名商标的识别性和显著性。商标淡化不仅侵害了驰名商标权利人的合法权益,而且扰乱了市场竞争秩序,是各国立法普遍予以规制的对象。     

Trade liberalisation and domestic brands: Evidence from China's accession to the WTO

In this paper, we examine how trade liberalisation affects firms' branding behaviours. We investigate this question with China's accession to the WTO in late 2001. We find that firms in sectors with large import tariff reductions discontinue more trademarks. Meanwhile, these firms file more trademark applications and their total number of effective trademarks increases after trade liberalisation. This growth in trademarks is mainly driven by large firms, as measured by the number of employees. In fact, small firms' applications and effective trademarks decline during trade liberalisation. It is also found that trademark applications are mainly filed for the traditionally non-dominant products of industries. We provide a conceptual model that incorporates the channels through which both passive and active responses occur.     

贸易对收入分配影响研究的最新进展及其评论

随着近年来保护贸易的盛行与收入差距持续扩大,国际贸易对收入分配的影响成为国际经济学领域的研究热点。本文从国际贸易对一国整体收入水平以及国内收入差距的影响两个角度介绍了近年来这方面理论的最新进展及趋势。尽管各理论分析角度、模型设计以及数据运用各不相同,但结论趋于一致,即自由贸易会带来一国整体收入的提高,但也会导致收入差距的扩大,因此保护贸易政策会损害到一国整体福利,自由贸易导致收入差距的扩大可通过适当国内再分配政策进行调节。     

When less family is more: Trademark acquisition,family ownership,and internationalization

This study examines the relationship between international performance and the orientation of the firm towards trademark acquisition, and discusses family ownership as a moderator of this association. We conceptualize our study along three interrelated lines of ‘openness’ i.e. openness towards external resources, openness of governance, and openness towards international markets. The empirical investigation relies on a panel data analysis over four years, and on a cross-industry sample of European listed companies consisting of 712 observations. Our outcomes reveal that the attitude of the company to enrich the brand portfolio with externally developed trademarks is positively associated with the firms’ international performance. We also find that this relationship is moderated by family ownership. “Less family is more”: we find a positive relationship of openness towards trademark acquisitions with the firms’ international performance, which decreases with the presence of a family in a dominant position.     

品牌刷新及其路径选择

本文认为,在我国比较特殊的品牌生态环境下,企业重品牌创立轻品牌管理,品牌衰退、品牌非正常死亡现象异常突出。针对问题品牌可以采用刷新策略,通过对品牌信息的重新构建和传播途径的取舍,支持强化品牌目标,进而强化或改变原有品牌形象,以新的品牌信息刷新旧有品牌形象,激活品牌联想,使原有品牌形象清晰化、丰富化,直至强大。文章提出,差异点和活力点是进行品牌刷新强有力的工具,能够改善、提升或强化目标品牌,但在选取差异点或活力点并实施品牌化的过程中,必须注意优先性、投入及隐身和现身等问题。     

“联系说”视角下商标俗称抢注案的法律思考

商标权的客体为相关公众所认知的商标与商标所标识的商品或服务之间的联系,以此为基础可以认定商标俗称的抢注构成对商标权的侵犯,同时,商标俗称可以被认定为近似商标的一种形式,从而适用《商标法》第52条的规定。此外,在商标俗称的问题上,不能适用法律对驰名商标的特殊保护。     

Measurement of innovation activities in the knowledge-intensive services industry: a trademark approach

Innovation measurement in the knowledge-intensive services (KIS) industry is very complex, due to a lack of adequate innovation indicators. A rather new empirical approach involves the analysis of trademarks for the measurement. This paper aims to explore the use and relevance of trademarks for service firms. Data from the German section of the ‘Community Innovation Survey’ are used, and a survey with 278 participating firms is conducted. The results of the two independent empirical studies demonstrate that a trademark can be used as an innovation indicator, at least for knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and product innovations. The results also illustrate which firm-inside and environmental features explain the use of trademarks as an intellectual property protection measure.     

Globalisation and Economic Growth: A Historical Perspective

This paper reviews the historical evidence on the relationship between globalisation and economic growth. Divergence in the growth of income and industrialisation in the twentieth century is documented but it is also noted that international income inequality appears to have decreased since about 1870 and that long-run trends in the Human Development Index are much less pessimistic about the experience of developing countries. It is argued that trade liberalisation has been good for growth on average but that successful capital liberalisation requires high institutional quality and that the developmental state may have an important role to play in the early stages of development. The recent claim by Robert Lucas that the 21st century will see a massive reduction in income inequality across countries in a globalised world economy is sceptically discussed in the context of empirical evidence that bad institutions are often persistent and that geography is still a major factor in explaining international income differences.     

充分发挥商标战略的引领作用

发挥商标战略的引领作用,引导企业把商标战略纳入企业发展的总体战略,指导企业提高商品制造、研发、运用能力,培育商标的独特性,形成品牌互动,提高商标在市场和消费者心目中的认知度;提高商标利用效率,增强企业在更大范围、更高领域、更高层次参与国内外市场竞争的优势,重组、优化产品结构和产业结构,促进经济结构调整与增长方式的转变。加强对商标专用权的保护,构建以商标注册人自我保护为主体,行政和司法保护相结合,社会公众参与的商标权益保护体系,加大商标专用权行政执法力度,积极探索长效机制,保护企业的创新成果。     

Trade, demand spillovers, and industrialization: The emerging global middle class in perspective

In this paper, we investigate international demand spillovers brought about by a global middle class and their impact on trade patterns and industrialization. We propose a multi-industry and two-country trade model featuring demand complementarities propagating increasing returns across industries and national boundaries. We show how the international extent of demand spillovers depends upon asymmetries in domestic income distribution, labor efficiency, and labor force size; that is, on the global distribution of real income.     

Business Cycles Synchronicity and Income Levels: Has Globalisation Brought us Closer Than Ever?

Research on business cycle linkages shows a tendency to model countries of relatively the same income levels jointly. However, the issue of whether these countries move along the same business cycles has not been formally investigated in the literature. In this paper, we take this approach and investigate whether each group of countries follows its own dynamics and is therefore subjected to the same business cycle and whether these cycles are independent of each other across income groups. Results indicate that high income per capita countries (HICs) tend to be guided by stronger similarity in business cycles than countries in the middle (MICs) and low income (LICs) groups. In search for an explanation of the business cycles synchronicity observed, panel data analysis was explored. The results from the robust fixed effects estimation show neither trade openness nor shocks to consumption underlie international business cycle synchronization, but rather shocks to oil prices.     

Trade,demand spillovers,and industrialization: The emerging global middle class in perspective

In this paper, we investigate international demand spillovers brought about by a global middle class and their impact on trade patterns and industrialization. We propose a multi-industry and two-country trade model featuring demand complementarities propagating increasing returns across industries and national boundaries. We show how the international extent of demand spillovers depends upon asymmetries in domestic income distribution, labor efficiency, and labor force size; that is, on the global distribution of real income.     

Pet Peeves: Trademark Law and the Consumer Enjoyment of Brand Pet Parodies

Consumers appear to appreciate trademark parodies, particularly those that are related to pets. In contrast, some trademark owners object to such parodies. However, as this article demonstrates, trademark law generally allows the sale of parody products unless these products copy the targeted trademarks too closely.     

商标平行进口法律问题研究

商标平行进口是一个与知识产权有关的国际贸易问题。在考察国际商标平行进口理论与实践的发展状况的基础上,针对我国国情提出中国宜以"原则上禁止商标平行进口,一定条件下例外允许平行进口。"为指导完善我国相关法律的建议。     

Trademarks and venture capital valuation

This study investigates the role of trademarks in the start-up valuations of venture capitalists (VCs). Our results show that the number and breadth of trademark applications have inverted U-shaped relationships with the financial valuations of start-ups by VCs. The findings also indicate that in later funding rounds, the value of trademark applications decreases when the start-up progresses into more advanced development stages. Start-ups should consider these findings when seeking funding from VCs and should stress their market and growth orientations and their willingness to protect their marketing investments by highlighting their trademark activities.     

International Migration,the Brain Drain and Poverty: A Cross‐country Analysis

The aim of the paper is threefold. First, it empirically investigates the effect of international migration on poverty in origin countries, using data from a cross‐country analysis. Second, it explores the specific part of the income distribution from which migrants are drawn, by comparing the effect of international migration on different income quintiles of the population. Finally, given that the selection of migrants depends not only on the income level of their households, but also on the skill levels of movers, the paper casts some light on the implications of the emigration of skilled workers on poverty. This article shows that the stock of international migrants have a positive effect on the income of the poor while it does not have a significant impact on the income of the middle and top quintiles of the population. In particular, a 10 per cent increase in the per capita stock of migrants resident in OECD nations augments the income of the poor by 1 per cent, on average and ceteris paribus. Finally, the poverty‐reducing effect of migration holds even when the emigration process selects the best and the brightest.