Trade-mark Opposition And Litigation In BRIC And NAFTA Countries

INTRODUCTION

The 2008-2009 recession notwithstanding, global trade has increased to historic levels. Globalization is both cause and effect of rapid development in the economies of a number of countries, notably China, India, Brazil, and the Russian Federation. By way of example, in the period 1999-2008 merchandise imports to China grew by 684 per cent, to India by 621 per cent, to Brazil by 352 per cent and to Russia by 738 per cent.¹ As the pace of trade has grown, the number of applications for trade-mark registrations has increased, in some cases exponentially. Between 1995 and 2007, trademark applications in China increased from 172,146 to 714,942. Trademark applications in the same period more than doubled in Brazil, India, and Russia.²