Trademarks and the Third World

There were about four million trademarks in force throughout the world in 1974. Around one million of them were granted in the developing countries; one half of these were owned by foreigners and most of them for items of consumption for the elites. Advertising expenditures in developing countries, mostly meant to promote these trademarks, amounted to $4 billion in 1973 - twice as much as their expenditure on R & D!This article examines the place of trademarks in developing countries and their functions. It points to the anomaly between the legal framework, national as well as international, giving protection to the owners of trademarks and the interests of development of the Third World. It concludes by drawing attention to initiatives for balancing the grant of such rights, mostly to transnational corporations by considerations of national interest.