Abstract
Due to the ever increasing trans-border movement, internet connection and globalization, individuals in different corner of the world are becoming easily accustomed to international well-known marks even though the owners of such marks do not produce/supply goods/services within a particular territory. Be this as it may, coupled with the conventional registration and territorial based system that is pursued in respect of the protection of trademarks, the dynamic change of such interaction among the global community have opened a fertile ground for trademark squatters to register and exploit the international well-known marks of others. On the backdrop of this fact, this manuscript investigates the Ethiopian well-known trademark protection system in light of its capacity to promote the interest of the country, in particular in respect of its potential implication on the foreign direct investment flow of the country. The study has made use of primary and secondary sources of data and qualitative analysis to investigate the implication of the regime on the foreign direct investment flow of the country. The finding is that the existing international well-known trademark protection legal framework, which hangs up the special protection of such marks to a future international convention, apart from its potential threat on franchise business and foreign direct investment flow, it is deterring the country from benefiting out of employment opportunities and declaration fees which the country shall consider forth with. Keywords: International well-known trademark, Foreign Direct Investment, Franchise business, Registration, Territorial. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/106-01 Publication date: February 28 th 2021
Highlights
Well-known trademarks, known as famous brands, are trademarks with great popularity and reputation in a certain area (An Qinghu, 2005)
Though the working Ethiopian Trademark Registration and Protection Proclamation provided rules which potentially protects the property rights of foreign well-known trademarks owners, it subjected their special protection to international convention/s that the country becomes a party in the future
The consequence of a loose international well-known trademark protection system is that either the brand owner will be denied from penetrating in the market where his or her brand is registered by squatters or s/he will be forced to pay a huge sum of money to reclaim his or her brand back (Sunny Chang, 2014)
Summary
Well-known trademarks, known as famous brands, are trademarks with great popularity and reputation in a certain area (An Qinghu, 2005). Many countries are offering special protection for marks that qualify as well-known trademarks through departing from basic trademark principles (Elizabeth Houlihan, 2011) In view of their special features, literatures and practical experiences are showing that a country’s flow of Foreign Direct Investment (here in after FDI) will be negatively affected as a result of the lack of special protection. In this regard, though the working Ethiopian Trademark Registration and Protection Proclamation (here in after Proclamation No 501/2006) provided rules which potentially protects the property rights of foreign well-known trademarks owners, it subjected their special protection to (an) international convention/s that the country becomes a party in the future. The consequence of a loose international well-known trademark protection system is that either the brand owner will be denied from penetrating in the market where his or her brand is registered by squatters or s/he will be forced to pay a huge sum of money to reclaim his or her brand back (Sunny Chang, 2014)
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