Article Title
Emerging Scholars Series: A Re-Examination of the Original Foundations of Anglo-American Trademark Law
Abstract
Contemporary accounts of the normative basis of Anglo-American trademark law frequently describe the purpose of the legal doctrine as having developed to protect primarily the consumers from being misled. Recently, some commentators have offered a different account of the law, as having developed to protect mainly the interests of the traders in not having their trade diverted. Under this account, early trademark law served one master only, the producer, with any additional benefit or protection to consumers being unintended. In this Article, the Author challenges both accounts and suggest that early trademark law was not driven by any judicial desire to vindicate any specific private interest.