It’s a complex subject and covers things like product names, logos, jingles. This article helps to explain the basics
Our proofreading course lesson includes an online test, where our students have to work out the status of various products that are often expressed incorrectly.
And one question that regularly catches our students out is aspirin. Is it a trademarked product, with a capital A, or not? Well, it depends …
One proofreading course student pointed out that aspirin was trademarked by Bayer, but lost this right in 1918 in a number of countries. These included the UK and US, where it is now a generic name.
He pointed out that aspirin’s Wikipedia page said the same, and wondered why we included the question in a test that related to UK media law.
Our view was that our proofreading course lesson did not say it just covered UK law. This was deliberate. We live a in a global environment, and proofreaders need to think that way.
This is why our proofreading lesson also mentions EU and US laws with regard to copyright. Trademarks in the UK are also covered by EU legislation, at least until Brexit.
UK trademarks were protected under the Trademark Act 1994 until March 2016. Last year, the act was superseded by the EU Trademarks Directive, which will harmopnise trademark law across the EU. Member states have until January 2019 to incorporate the directive into their national laws.
So this is why we provide one question in the test that gives students an awareness of the international aspects of trademarks.
And why some students feel they need an Aspirin, or an aspirin, after completing it!
See our proofreading course