‘Foreign’ Trademarks in Jordan and the Influence of Imperial Powers

Abstract

Abstract The Jordanian Trademarks Law, as it stands today, suffered from the influence of imperial powers. Namely, the influence of the USA and UK has resulted in the introduction of a classification of trademarks, which is: “Foreign Trademarks”. This paper proves the said influence through the standard of well-known trademarks under the Jordanian Trademarks Law, in addition to the preferential treatment of the foreign trademarks in terms of invalidity and annulment. It is argued that the privileges given to foreign trademarks were to the detriment of national trademarks. This paper is a call for Jordan to put national interests first in this area of law, and advances an argument for a legislative reform, De lege ferenda, and the way Jordanian courts and the trademarks’ registrar should deal with the law as it stands today, De lege lata, in order to mitigate the loss that ‘national’ marks currently suffer from.