Something has become

so familiar or famous

that everyone know its name.

It’s a household name.

We encounter trademarks all the time in everyday life. Any word, or picture, or phrase, or slogan, or any combination of these can be a trademark. A trademark is used to identify goods in the marketplace, and to distinguish the goods of one seller from those of another seller. Some famous trademarks are Nike and Adidas, which identify companies which sell shoes and clothing; Wilson and Spalding, for companies which sell sports equipment; and Coca Cola and Pepsi, two companies which both sell soft drinks and other beverages.

日常生活中我们总都能看到各式各样的商标。所有的词、图片、短语、口号或者这些组合在一起都能构成一个商标。商标是用来识别市场上的商品，区别不同销售商的商品。比如一看到耐克，阿迪达斯这些著名商标，我们就可以识别出是售卖运动鞋与运动衣的公司；而威尔逊、斯伯丁的品牌，则是售卖运动装备的公司；可口可乐、百事可乐，就是售卖饮料汽水的品牌公司。

Companies that sell services use service marks to identify their services in the marketplace. Some famous service marks are Google for Internet search engine services, Starbucks for coffee services, and McDonald’ s for restaurant services. Examples of slogans which are used as trademarks or service marks would be "Just do it" (Nike), or "I’m lovin it" (McDonald's).

服务公司通过商标来完成自身在销售市场的认证服务，著名谷歌公司通过“Google”的标志表明它是提供互联网搜索引擎服务的公司。再比如耐克公司的口号是“Just do it”, 麦当劳的口号是“I’m lovin it ”。

图源|视觉中国

Example:

1. Matt and Ben have just graduated from art school, where they studied photography. They decide to open a business together. Matt will do photography for weddings and other social events. Ben will focus on photographing products for businesses. They decide to call their business "Hot Shots." They also create a slogan, "You do it, we shoot it."

迈特和本刚从艺术院校的绘画专业毕业。毕业后，他们决定一起创业，开一家摄影公司。迈特负责为婚纱摄影以及其他社会活动的拍摄，本主要承接商业绘画工作。他们决定将公司命名为“Hot Shots”，公司口号是“You do it, we shoot it”。

2. Matt and Ben become successful photographers. As their business grows and to increase their advertising, they decide to also sell Tshirts, baseball caps, and coffee mugs with their business name and slogan printed on them.

迈特和本成为了出色的摄影师。他们的公司日益壮大，大力宣传推广时，迈特与本决定售卖印有公司口号的T恤衫，棒球帽和咖啡杯。

Matt and Ben have a service business—they provide photography services. To identify those services in the marketplace, they create two service marks—the name of their business, "Hot Shots," and their slogan, "You do it, we shoot it." When they later decide to sell goods—the Tshirts, hats, and coffee mugs—their business name and slogan are also used as trademarks, to identify their goods in the marketplace.

迈特和本拥有提供摄影服务的公司，为了让这些服务在市场上独一无二，他们创造出两个服务标识，一个是公司的名字“Hot Shots”， 另一个是公司口号“ You do it, we shoot it”。而当他们想要售卖T恤，帽子，咖啡杯时，他们将公司的名字和口号作为商标印在这些商品上，以便消费者在销售市场更容易识别出他们的产品。

The ownership of a trademark is limited to the geographic area in which the trademark is used. Someone else, in a different area, can use the same trademark for her goods. The public is not likely to be confused, because the selling area for the two competing goods is separate.

商标的所有权受限于商标使用的地区。不同地区的人可以对商品使用同一个商标，即便如此，公众也不可能感到迷惑，因为两个竞品的销售区域是完全独立分开的。

The world is a smaller place now, and business is conducted nationally and internationally. If ownership of a trademark is obtained simply by adopting and using that trademark to identify a business’s goods, is there any need to register that trademark with the U.S. Trademark Office? After all, registration is expensive, currently between $225 and $325 per trademark registered. The answer is yes, there is a big advantage. Federal registration expands the geographic ownership area for the trademark.

商业全球化趋势明显，世界变成了地球村。如果商标的所有权仅仅通过使用商标来识别公司的商品，那么还有必要在商标局登记吗？要知道目前商标注册费用是非常昂贵的，大约在225美元-325美元之间。尽管如此，商标注册的优势依然很多。联邦商标注册扩大到拥有商标所有权的区域。

If a federal registration protects a trademark everywhere in the United States, does it also protect that trademark in other countries?

如果联邦商标注册保护商标在美国任何地方的权益，那么它能保护在其他国家的所有权益吗？

The rule has always been that a trademark registration in one country only protected it in that country. Companies which did business all over the world had to register their trademarks in every country where they sold goods. This was very expensive, because each country’s trademark office charged separate filing fees, and the companies had to hire lawyers in each country to do the paperwork. A 2003 international trademark treaty, called the Madrid Protocol, does provide a means for international registration of trademarks, but there are legal and practical limits to the protection.

商标只适用于商标注册国。全球的商业公司必须在自家商品的销售区域进行商标注册。因为每个国家的商标局都要独立收费，所以企业注册商标费用非常昂贵，而且，这些商业公司还必须雇用当地的律师做一些文书工作。2003年国际商标合约，又名马德里国际商标注册体系，的确为国际商标注册提供一些方法途径，但是对于商标的保护仍有法律上和现实上的限制。

Once someone becomes the owner of a trademark, what is its duration? In other words, how long does that trademark last? The easy answer is that a trademark lasts as long as it is still being used in the marketplace to identify the goods or services. For example, Coca Cola was first registered as a trademark in 1893, and it is still being used today—more than 120 years later!

一旦他人拥有了商标的所有权，那么它的有效期是多久呢？换句话说，商标能用多久呢？只要商标能在市场上使用并用来识别商品和服务，商标就一直有效。例如，可口可乐公司在1893年注册了一个“Coca Cola”的商标，商标一直持续到现在，超过120年了。

The federal trademark registration itself does need to be renewed every ten years. This is easily done by filing required paperwork with the U.S. Trademark Office. But even if the registration were not renewed, the trademark ownership would continue as long as the trademark continues to be used in the marketplace.

联邦商标注册每10年要重新注册一次，这对于已存档的美国政府商标办公室而言是很容易实现的。但即使注册的商标没有更新，只要商标在市场上一直使用，那么商标的所有权就一直存续。

Even though a trademark has the potential to last forever, it can be lost. There are two ways. First, the trademark can be abandoned. It is no longer used in the marketplace. If this happens, the rights of the trademark owner cease, and the trademark then becomes free for use by anyone else. The second way to lose a trademark is to allow it to become the generic word for the goods or services themselves. Something is generic if it applies to all things of that kind. A trademark becomes generic if the public begins to use that word to describe the product itself, rather than to identify a particular brand name. Several once famous trademarks have been lost in just this way. For example, the escalator—the moving stairway that is used everywhere from shopping malls to subway stations—was once a trademark, owned by the Otis Elevator Company. It was Otis that invented the moving stairway in 1899. It created the word escalator by combining the words "elevator" and "scala," which is the Italian word for steps. Unfortunately, the public began to call all moving staircases escalators, rather than calling them "moving stairways." In 1950, the U.S. Trademark office ruled that Otis Elevator Company no longer owned the trademark, because escalator had become the generic name for a moving stairway.

即使商标所有权有可能持续到永久，但也有可能丧失所有权益。第一，废弃的商标，它将不会出现在市场上。如果商标废弃了，商标拥有者的所有权益中止，这个时候任何人都可以免费使用商标。第二种丧失商标的方法就是将商标变成产品或者服务的通称。通称就是能够描述所有同种类的特征。如果公众开始使用那个词来描述产品本身，而不是识别一个特殊的商标名字，此时商标就变成了通称。许多著名商标就是以这种方式丧失。例如，电梯—购物商场到地铁的移动阶梯，就曾是由奥的斯电梯公司所拥有的一个商标，奥的斯公司在1899年发明了移动的楼梯。它将“elevator”和“scala”结合在一起，创造出“escalator”（电梯）这个词。“scala”是意大利语中脚步的意思。不幸的是，公众开始把所有的移动阶梯都叫做电梯，而不是叫它们移动的阶梯。1950年，美国政府商标办公室规定奥的斯电梯公司不再拥有这个商标所有权，因为电梯这个词已经成为了所有移动的阶梯的通称。

To prevent losing a trademark as a generic word, it is important to always distinguish between the trademark and the name of the product itself. For example, we don’t use a Kleenex to wipe our noses; we use a Kleenex brand tissue. Kleenex is the trademark. Tissue is the name of the product.

为了防止商标作为一个通称而丧失，那么区分商标与产品本身的名字是非常重要的。例如我们不会用Kleenex去擦鼻子，但是我们会用Kleenex牌子的纸巾擦鼻子。Kleenex是商标的名字，而纸巾是产品的名字。

Madeline loves to cook. She is always looking for new recipes. One day, she decides to learn how to cook Peking Duck. She asks her friend, Alicia, if she knows where to find a good recipe for Peking Duck. Alicia says, "Just Google it." Madeline uses the Google search engine and finds several good recipes.

梅德兰喜欢做饭，她总是寻找新的菜谱。一天，她决定去学怎么做北京烤鸭。她向自己的朋友阿利亚询问，在哪里能找到做北京烤鸭的食谱。阿利亚说：“谷歌一下吧”。梅德兰利用谷歌搜索引擎找到了很多好的烹饪烤鸭的食谱。

Is it ever legal to use another company’s trademark without getting permission? The rule of fair use of trademarks allows just this type of use. The most common fair use of trademarks occurs in advertisements, where one product is compared to a competing product. One of the most famous of these advertising campaigns is the "Pepsi Challenge." Beginning in 1975 and continuing for almost three decades, Pepsi Cola ran a series of television commercials in which a person tastes two colas, without knowing what they are. After the person chooses the cola he thinks tastes best, the brands are then revealed to show that the person chose Pepsi over Coca Cola. Because Pepsi was using Coca Cola’s trademark for the purpose of comparing its product, Pepsi, to the competing product, Coke, Coca Cola could not sue Pepsi Cola for trademark infringement. Pepsi’s use of the “Coke” trademark was fair use.

未经允许的情况下使用另外一个公司的商标是合法的吗？公平使用商标的规则是允许这类情况存在的。最常见的商标的公平使用产生在广告中某产品与其竞品的竞争中。始于1975年的著名“百事挑战”宣传活动一直持续了30多年，百事可乐公司进行了一系列的电视宣传，也就是某人在未知的情况下，品尝两种可乐，喝完以后，选出他认为最好喝的那一瓶，这时亮出百事可乐是最好喝的那一瓶，而可口可乐次之。虽然百事可乐利用可口可乐的商标来对比自家的可乐，但可口可乐也不会控诉百事可乐商标侵犯。原因是百事可乐公司的做法属于商标的公平利用。

Another type of fair use occurs in artistic uses of a trademark, such as in a television show, movie, or video game.

关于商标的公平使用的另一种类型就是商标的艺术使用，例如电视节目、电影和视频游戏。

Most companies today have websites, either to advertise their products, or to sell products and services directly to customers through the Internet. The "website address" is also known as a "domain name." Companies choose a domain name that is the same as the company name, so that customers can easily find their websites. Examples would include, disney.com for the Walt Disney company, apple.com for the Apple computer company, and google.com for the Google Internet search engine company. A company’s domain name can be protected as a trademark. A company can prevent others from using its company name, or its trademarks, as domain names. Even if the domain name used by another is similar but not identical to the company’s trademarks, the company can still prevent the use of that domain name.

当今大多数公司都有网站，要么去宣传自身的产品，要么直接通过互联网向消费者销售产品和服务，所以消费者很容易找到他们的网站。例如瓦特迪士尼公司的迪士尼官网，苹果公司的苹果官网，谷歌搜索引擎公司的谷歌官网。一个公司的域名会像商标一样受到保护。这样可以防止其他公司使用其域名或者商标。即使其他人使用的域名是相似的，但公司的商标不一样，那么公司仍旧可以防止其他公司使用其域名。

Irwin sells teapots, tea cups, coffee mugs, and coffee makers. Irwin obtains the domain name starbux.com for his website. The Starbucks Coffee Company sues Irwin for trademark infringement. Irwin has violated the trademark rights of the Starbucks Coffee Company by creating a domain name which is similar to the famous trademark Starbucks. Even though the spelling of starbux.com is different, it is still confusing to the public. Customers looking for the Starbucks Coffee Company are likely to end up on Irwin’s website. Irwin’s domain name has infringed the Starbucks trademark.

欧文公司主要销售茶壶、茶杯、咖啡杯以及咖啡壶。欧文公司官网域名是starbux.com。星巴克公司控告欧文公司商标侵权。欧文公司域名与星巴克公司的域名相似，所以欧文公司侵犯了星巴克公司的商标权益。即使欧文公司的域名拼写与星巴克的不同，但仍会使大众产生疑惑。而且消费者在浏览星巴克官网的时候很可能打开欧文公司的网站。因此欧文公司的域名侵犯了星巴克公司的商标权益。

Suppose that Irwin is not just using the domain name starbux.com, but is also printing the word "Starbux" on his teapots, tea cups, coffee mugs, and coffee makers. Although the spelling of "Starbux" is different from the famous trademark, "Starbucks," the words sound exactly alike when they are pronounced. This can also be trademark infringement. If Starbucks Coffee Company files a lawsuit against Irwin for trademark infringement, how will the judge or jury decide if Irwin did infringe the trademark?

试想一下如果欧文不使用starbux.com的域名，但是把“starbux”的标志印刷在欧文的茶壶、茶杯、咖啡壶和咖啡杯上。尽管“Starbux”与“Starbucks”拼写完全不同，但是发音很相似。这个也会造成商标侵权。如果星巴克公司起诉欧文构成了商标侵权，那么法官与陪审团是否会认定欧文商标侵权呢？

The test to determine if a trademark has been infringed is likelihood of confusion. If the public is likely to be confused by the defendant’s use of the trademark, then it is infringement. What kind of confusion? The public might believe that the defendant’s goods or services are actually those of the trademark owner. For example, consumers who go to Irwin’s website might believe that the teapots, tea cups, coffee mugs, and coffee makers which Irwin sells are actually made or sold by Starbucks Coffee Company. The public might also believe that the trademark owner sponsors the defendant’s goods or services, or approves of those goods or services. Consumers who visit Irwin’s website might think that, even though Starbucks Coffee Company does not actually make the goods that Irwin is selling, it sponsors Irwin’s website or it approves of the goods he is selling.

判定商标是否侵权在于消费者是否产生疑惑。如果公众有可能对对手使用的商标产生疑惑，那么这就构成了商标侵权。什么样的疑惑呢？公众相信对手的产品与服务跟商标拥有者的产品服务没什么区别。例如，消费者浏览欧文的网站上售卖的茶壶与茶杯，咖啡壶与咖啡杯，却相信是星巴克公司制作和销售的。公众可能相信商标主人发起的对手的产品与服务，或者同意那些产品与服务。浏览欧文网站的消费者可能会认为，即使星巴克公司没有制作欧文公司卖的产品，但他们却自发的浏览欧文公司的网站并认可欧文公司的产品。

To win its case against Irwin, Starbucks Coffee Company does not have to prove that any consumers were actually confused. All Starbucks Coffee Company has to prove is that the two trademarks, "Starbucks" and "Starbux," are so similar that consumers are likely to be confused.

为了打赢官司，星巴克不必证明哪些消费者已经产生疑惑。而应证明“Starbucks”和“Starbux”过于雷同，致使消费者很有可能感到困惑，不能辨别。

In trademark law, the owner of a famous trademark can sue someone for dilution, which is any use of the trademark which will make it weaker, reduce its strength, or fade its fame in the public’s mind. In a trademark dilution lawsuit, it does not matter if the plaintiff’s goods are in competition with the defendant’s goods. They can be completely different. It also does not matter if the defendant’s trademark is confusingly similar to the plaintiff’s trademark. Likelihood of public confusion is not the issue in a trademark dilution lawsuit. Rather, the issue is only that the distinctiveness of the famous trademark is impaired by association with another similar trademark. Dilution can also occur if the reputation of a famous trademark is harmed through association with another similar trademark.

商标法中，驰名商标的拥有者可以因商标淡化控诉他人（商标淡化指的是减少、削弱驰名商标影响力，污损、退化驰名商标声誉）。

商标淡化诉讼中，即使原告与被告的商品存在竞争关系也没关系，他们的商品也可能完全不一样，即使被告的商标会让消费者对原告的商标产生疑惑也无妨。商标淡化诉讼中的关键不是在于公众对商标产生的疑惑，而是驰名商标的独特性会被相似的商标削弱。商标淡化还表现在驰名商标的声誉会被相似商标损害。

In our example, because "Starbucks" is a world famous trademark, it is diluted by Irwin’s use of the similar trademark "Starbux." Irwin’s use tends to reduce the distinctive quality of "Starbucks." If the quality of Irwin’s products is poor, or his business has a bad reputation, then his use of "Starbux" also tends to harm the good reputation of the trademark "Starbucks."

上述例子中，星巴克是世界驰名商标，欧文公司使用的“Starbux”会淡化星巴克公司的商标。欧文使用的商标会削弱星巴克商标的独特性。如果欧文公司生产的劣质商品，或者公司声誉不好，那么势必会影响星巴克公司的声誉。

trademark (n) 商标。指用于识别商品的文字、图形或其组合。

service mark (n) 服务标志，服务标记。指由文字、图形或其组合而成的服务行业标记。

slogan (n) 口号，标语。

goods (n) 商品，用于出售的货物。

registered (adj) 注册的，登记的，由政府正式发布证明的。

brick and mortar (adj) 砖混结构的，砖和砂浆筑成的，实体的。即能具体定位的实体商场、商店等。

generic (adj) 一类的，类的，一般的。

dilute (v) 稀释，冲淡，减弱。

牛刀小试 情景听力

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商务法律英语

Legal English for Business

Robert W. Woods & Wu Xiao

●由美国商法律师和教师专为非英语国家学生和读者编写
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