Magister Legum - LLM (Private Law) / A trade mark is defined as a sign that is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one
enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trade marks, copyright, patents and designs are
some of the forms of intellectual property. Trade marks can be divided into traditional trade
marks and non-traditional trade marks. Traditional trade marks are capable of being represented
graphically, for example logos, service marks or company names. Non-traditional trade marks
are generally not capable of being represented graphically. Examples of these marks are inter
alia, scent, taste, touch and sound marks.
Technology is changing the way business is being conducted. The registration of nontraditional
trade marks has grown exponentially as businesses seek to use innovative ways to
protect their brands. Non-conventional trade marks may be visible signs, examples of which
include colours, shapes, moving images, holograms and positions or non-visible signs such as
sounds, scents, tastes, textures. Visible signs may easily be registered since they satisfy the
requirement of graphical representation. Non-visible marks do not generally meet this
requirement which makes their registration more complicated. An example of a registered
visible non-traditional trade marks is the four finger shape of Kit Kat chocolates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6406 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Kallis, Garth Ernest |
| Contributors | Mupangavanhu, Yeukai |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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