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Trademark Squatters: Theory and Evidence from Chile

Author

Listed:
  • Carsten Fink

    (World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO))

  • Christian Helmers

    (Santa Clara University)

  • Carlos Ponce

    (ILADES – Universidad Alberto Hurtado)

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of “trademark squatting” – a situation in which someone other than the original brand owner obtains a trademark on a brand. We develop a model that shows how squatting results from market uncertainty that leads brand owners to rationally forgo registering trademarks, creating opportunities for squatting. We create an algorithm to identify squatters in the Chilean trademark register and show empirically that squatting is a persistent and systematic phenomenon. Using data on trademark oppositions, we show that squatting leads brand owners that have been exposed to squatting to ‘over-protect’ their brands by registering disproportionately many trademarks and covering classes other than those directly related to their products and services. Trademark squatting, therefore, creates a strategic, albeit excessive, response by brand owners which inflates trademark filings.

Suggested Citation

  • Carsten Fink & Christian Helmers & Carlos Ponce, 2014. "Trademark Squatters: Theory and Evidence from Chile," ILADES-UAH Working Papers inv305, Universidad Alberto Hurtado/School of Economics and Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ila:ilades:inv305
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Boldrin,Michele & Levine,David K., 2010. "Against Intellectual Monopoly," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521127264.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carolina Castaldi & Sandro Mendonca, 2021. "Regions and trademarks. Research opportunities and policy insights from leveraging trademarks in regional innovation studies," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2138, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2021.
    2. Carsten Fink & Andrea Fosfuri & Christian Helmers & Amanda F. Myers, 2018. "Submarine Trademarks," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 51, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    3. Carsten Fink & Andrea Fosfuri & Christian Helmers & Amanda F. Myers, 2022. "Submarine trademarks," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 818-840, November.
    4. Crass, Dirk, 2020. "Which firms use trademarks? Firm-level evidence from Germany on the role of distance, product quality and innovation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(7), pages 730-755.
    5. Nasirov, Shukhrat, 2020. "Trademark value indicators: Evidence from the trademark protection lifecycle in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    6. Yougen Cao & Shengce Ren & Mei Du, 2022. "Strategic trademark management: a systematic literature review and prospects for future research," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(5), pages 435-453, September.
    7. Alexander Cuntz & Franziska Kaiser, 2020. "Batman forever? The economics of overlapping rights," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 61, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trademark; Squatter; Strategic Behavior; Chile;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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