A zombie trademark, orphan brand or zombie mark is an abandoned trademark from a brand or company which is revived by a new enterprise with no affiliation to the former brand. The purpose of reviving an abandoned trademark is to capitalize on the brand recognition and goodwill that consumers had for the older, unaffiliated brand.[1] The term "ghost brand" may sometimes be used for these,[2] but this is not to be confused with the alternate usage of "ghost mark" to refer to a kind of defensive trademark.[3]
Operating under a zombie trademark can be especially useful to newcomers in an industry who want to reduce the cost and time needed to build up brand recognition and consumer trust, which they can accomplish by linking their products to an older trademark. Consumers may assume that goods and products under the zombie trademark are of the same quality they associate with the old brand.[4] The efficacy of using a zombie trademark to co-opt consumer goodwill is unclear, as some studies have shown that consumers are wary of assuming that revived brands will be of the same quality as they remember.[5]
Only legally abandoned or expired trademarks may become zombie trademarks. Trademarks which are still in use by the original owner or for which there is no clear basis for legal abandonment can not be used as "zombie trademarks", as this would constitute trademark infringement.[6]
^Gilson, Jerome; LaLonde, Anne Gilson (2008). "The Zombie Trademark: A Windfall and a Pitfall". The Trademark Reporter. 98: 1280.
^Stim, Richard (2022-04-01). Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference. Nolo. p. 522. ISBN 978-1-4133-2984-1.
^Background Reading Material on Intellectual Property. World Intellectual Property Organization. 1988. p. 164. ISBN 9789280501841. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^Gioconda, Joseph C. (2017). "Measuring the Value of a Zombie Brand: A Survey-Based Model". IDEA: The Journal of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property. 58: 173.
^Farhadian, Sarah L. (2012). "Stealing Bacardi's Thunder: Why the Patent and Trademark Office Should Stop Registering Stolen Trademarks Now". Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. 30: 317.
A zombietrademark, orphan brand or zombie mark is an abandoned trademark from a brand or company which is revived by a new enterprise with no affiliation...
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