Collective Marks Essay

General Definition: A collective can be a cooperative, an association, or any other collective group or organization.

A collective mark is a form of trademark or service mark owned by a collective, whose members use the collective mark to identify their goods and services and to distinguish their goods and services from those of non-members, and to indicate membership in the group.

It can also be used by the collective itself to promote the interests of the members.

There are two types of collective marks:

Collective Marks – akin to a normal trademark, but used by members of a “collective.”

Collective Membership Marks – used to indicate membership in the “collective.”

1.1. Collective Marks

The “collective” itself typically does not sell goods

Examples:

WOMEN OF THE MOOSE (indicating membership in a fraternal organization for women).

REALTOR® (identifies members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®).

1.3. Registeration of Collective Marks

Nuances of Registration of Collective Marks:

• Wide variation among jurisdictions.

• Some countries (e.g., Indonesia) do not recognize collective marks at all.

• Some countries (e.g., China) require the filing of a list of the members of the collective and/or the managing rules of the collective (e.g., Vietnam)

2. WHAT ARE CERTIFICATION MARKS?

General Definition: A certification mark is a form of trademark used to identify goods and/or services that meet certain standards or specifications.

- These standards or specifications include: quality, accuracy, place of origin, raw materials, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of services, other specified properties.

- The owner of a certification mark exercises control over the use of the mark and ensures the standards have been met. Because the sole purpose of a certification mark is to indicate that certain standards have been met, use of the certification mark is by

Registration of Certification Marks

• Overview:

– Some countries include certification marks under the umbrella of “collective marks.”

– Some countries regulate certification marks separately, as their own category of trademark.

– Some countries (e.g., Japan) have no legal protection for certification marks.

– Requirement: include a set of rules or specifications governing the use of the mark.

– Most countries require that the mark not be misleading as to the character or significance of the mark (i.e., not likely to be taken as something other than a certification mark).

– Some countries require the owner to show that registration is in the public interest and to the public advantage.

The certifying organization must establish operating rules and regulations identifying what is being certified by the mark and the required standards.

- Those rules and regulations accompany the application for the certification mark.

- They set out the conditions that must be met for a third party to use the mark.

Where certification marks are regulated under the umbrella of collective marks, the rules of collective marks will also apply.

Countries differ on whether they allow the owner of a certification mark to use the mark in association with its own goods or