The Bigger The Better… Comes With A Proviso!

Now this may sound a little depraved, but I couldn't find a better subject line to explain this. So, my apologies in advance. You may be wondering about the proviso, so here it goes... "only if you keep using it!".

Yes, a bigger trademark portfolio is good only if it is used. "Use" is a controversy which may take a few more years to be resolved but I am confident that with constant changes in the global economic climate, the definition of trademark use will sooner or later, be redefined.

The trademark laws of most (read as almost all) countries provide a use period which, if not complied with, renders a trademark registration prone to cancelation on grounds of non-use. And why not? We should adhere to antitrust laws, discourage monopolies and provide an open playing ground in the marketplace. Well, is that actually true? ...and whether non-use cancellation results in achieving the later objectives? ...is once again a myth. The consequences in many cases, of