ARTICLE · 25 MAY 2013

A Retrospective on Trademarks in 2012

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

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If you are a Marxist, you view the world in terms of class struggle; if you are an artist, you see the world as colors and forms; and if you are a trademark lawyer, you see the world in terms of, well, trademarks (and service marks).

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Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP'S Intellectual Property Practice Group

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If you are a Marxist, you view the world in terms of class struggle; if you are an artist, you see the world as colors and forms; and if you are a trademark lawyer, you see the world in terms of, well, trademarks (and service marks).

So, what do trademarks reveal about 2012? Some un-surprising things (but at least they confirm what we suspected), and some very interesting things.

The top ten countries for published trademarks in 2012 constitute the world's economic varsity: China, U.S., Brazil, Turkey, France, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Canada and the U.K.¹ Total trademark publications in the Varsity 10 declined one quarter of one percent from 2011; the global economy continues to sputter. The U.K. and Turkey were bright spots, up 10% and 8%, respectively.

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