The Assessment of the Concept and Functions of Well-Known Trademark under the Jordanian Trademarks Law – A Comparative Study

Abstract

The renown that certain trademarks enjoy requires the treatment of such marks differently from “ordinary” marks. The main problem that the Jordanian Trademarks Law suffers from is its adoption of a notion of well-known trademarks which excludes fom its ambit Jordanian trademarks or marks of Jordanian origin, unlike comparative legislations -such as the USA and UK legislations- where national interests were taken into consideration. After studying the notion of well-known trademarks, this article tackles the functions of trademarks, in particular well-known trademarks under the Jordanian law and relevant comparative legislations and international treaties. The study calls for considering national interest as the norm for the renown of trademarks through the definition that this study suggests, in addition to the need of interference by the Jordanian Judiciary interimly by adopting a wide interpretation for the current standard of renown in order to mitigate the loss steming from denying renown for purely well-known Jordanian marks or marks of Jordanian origin