Substantial Value as the Key to Functionality in Trade Mark Law: CIPIL Webinar
Channel: Cambridge Law Faculty
Date: 2020-11-02

Speaker: Dr Ilanah Fhima, University College London

Abstract: In 2011 the Max Planck Institute published a major report into the functioning of the European trade mark system, commissioned by the European Commission. Its mandate was to 'analyse current performances and to identify potential areas for improvement, streamlining and future development of this overall system to the benefit of users and the society as a whole.' One of the most drastic recommendations of the report was that the 'substantial value' clause of the trade mark legislation should be deleted. Ultimately, this did not happen. Drawing on literature from product design and marketing, I will argue that the failure to delete the provision was fortuitous because, in fact, the substantial value provision is the key to understanding functionality as a whole.

Biography: Reader in Intellectual Property Law, Co-director, Institute of Brand and Innovation Law Faculty of Laws, University College London

For more information see the CIPIL website: https://www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/seminars-and-events/cipil-seminars