History of trade marks

The marking of goods for various purposes, including identifying them from those of other traders, dates back to ancient times. In the same way, the existence of rules governing the use of such marks goes back to the medieval craft guilds.

It was only in the 19th century that people began to think of marks, which had become distinctive of a trader's goods, and so attracted valuable goodwill, as a type of property. In the middle of that century, the right to take action in the courts against infringement of a trade mark came about, even when there was no intention to deceive on the part of the infringer.

The usefulness of such an action was, however, limited by the need for a trader to prove that the mark concerned was in fact capable of distinguishing his goods, and that it belonged to him.

First legal framework and further legislation

The first trade mark registry was established in 1875. Trade mark law was consolidated in 1883, and the trade marks act of 1905 gave the first statutory definition of a 'trade mark'. 1938 saw further legal changes, which had major effect on trade mark registration.

Amendments to the 1938 Act by the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act 1984 introduced the registration of service marks in respect of services such as laundries and banking. The Patents, Designs and Trade Marks Act 1986, and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 made further amendments, which made the forgery of a trade mark a criminal offence.

Current position

The Trade Marks Act 1994, as amended includes many of the recommendations made by a previous government review of trade marks (the Mathys Report on British Trade Mark Law and Practice, Cmnd 5601, May 1974).

It takes account of the current needs of industry and commerce, and it aligns United Kingdom law with that of other countries, both in the European Union and internationally. As a result, the processing of trade mark applications has been simplified, and generally accelerated, for the benefit of existing and potential applicants.

Further information

You can find more information about the origins of trade marks, especially some of the famous ones, in your local library. They may also have books about designing trade marks and logos. To ensure your research is comprehensive, especially when searching the Internet, you should look up not only "trade marks", but also "trademarks", "trade-marks", and "brand names".