Slogans

Abstract

Marketers believe that a brand’s essence can often be distilled down to a simple phrase or sentence that captures both the soul of the brand and its unique selling proposition. Some even suggest that this proposition could serve as a brand slogan. Given the importance of brand slogans, it is surprising that the marketing literature does not discuss how to protect these statements from imitation by other brands. This paper fills this need by positing that, with proper drafting and use, most slogans can be protected against imitation as brand identifiers under trademark law. With more brands going international, slogans also provide an important ingredient for international branding. This paper develops recommendations for finding the proper balance between promotion and distinctiveness that would allow slogans to enjoy protection from imitation under both US and EU trademark law.