ARTICLE · 07 SEPTEMBER 2025

Position Trade Marks: The Airwair Case

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In this article, we discuss a type of trade mark that does not crop up very often. The name of this rare creature is the relatively new-fangled ‘position trade mark'.

South AfricaIntellectual Property

Tammi Pretorius

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In this article, we discuss a type of trade mark that does not crop up very often. The name of this rare creature is the relatively new-fangled 'position trade mark'. For the benefit of any readers who may be unfamiliar with the position trade mark, we will kick off with a crash course in position trade marks.

The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Trademark Guidelines tell us the following:

Definition: A position trade mark is a trade mark that consists of 'the specific way in which the trade mark is placed on or affixed to the product.'
Representation: A position trade mark must be represented by 'submitting a reproduction that identifies appropriately the position of the mark and its size or proportion with respect to the relevant goods'.

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