Degenerering av varumärken
- en juridisk konstruktion eller ett marknadsföringsproblem?
Degeneration of trademarks - a legal construction or a marketing problem? This paper discusses the issue of degeneration of trademarks. The study has its starting point in the conflict that may arise between the principles of marketing and the legislation concerning IP rights and market law. In this study several verdicts are studied in which degeneration has been addressed. Analyzing these rulings as well as the current legislation in the light of marketing theory, a conflict between marketing and legislation can be noted. The results from this study conclude that there is a conflict between marketing and legislation which to some extent comes from the rules of marketing theories as well as the lack of knowledge concerning the legislation of trademarks among the brand managers and marketing people. More specifically, it is also annoying to notice that some of the marketing literature direct or indirect encourages the professionals to manage and build their brands in such a manner that eventually leads to degeneration. Finally, the study argues that degeneration is really an unnecessary problem that should exist if the professional would act according to the rules set by the legislation.