This article is an excerpt from a forthcoming book, IP Strategy for Business. It has two goals. First is to introduce readers to the approach taken in the book. The book explains how business people can use intellectual property (IP) (such as patents, copyrights and trademarks) to protect investments, pursue profits, and generally use IP to pursue business goals. Second is to describe how this approach to strategy helps in decisions regarding global branding and trademark protection. In this article, the authtors describe some practical features of the law of international trademark protection, and show how these practical features can be used to support business goals and strategy related to marketing a consumer product in multiple countries.
本文摘自即将出版的《商业知识产权战略》一书。它有两个目的：一是向读者 介绍该书采用的方式，指导商业人士利用知识产权（IP） （如专利，版权和商标）来 保护投资、追求利润并实现商业目标。 二是阐述实现知识产权战略的方式，从而帮 助企业在全球品牌和商标保护方面做出决策。 本文还介绍了国际商标保护法的一些 实用功能，以及如何利用它们来支持商业目标和战略，在多个国家开拓消费品市场。
We begin with some basic of trademark law. Trademark law is the legal instrument a company uses to build what can become a powerful corporate asset: the company’s brand. A brand is often more than a single legal trademark, it is the overall image, symbol and signal of a company’s products or services. A good brand carries positive consumer associations. The most common association is between a brand and product quality, or reliability. A Tsingtao beer tastes the same in Shanghai, New York, and Berlin, and the Tsingtao trademark is what guarantees this constant quality. Beyond quality, some brands also carry other associations about lifestyles, personal image, or good taste. The owner of an Apple product such as an iPhone signals to others that he or she is modern, up-to-date, and stylish. A Louis Vuitton handbag signals sophisticated (and expensive!) tastes, as does the gift of a bottle of Chinese Moutai liquor.
我们从商标法的一些基本概念开始。商标法是建立企业品牌的法律工具，品牌 可以成为企业巨大的资产。品牌通常不仅仅是法律意义上的商标，它还是企业产品 或服务的整体形象、象征和标志。良好的品牌可以给消费者带来积极的联想，最常 见的是品牌与产品质量或可靠性之间的关联。青岛啤酒在上海、纽约和柏林的口味 相同，是因为青岛啤酒的商标保证了这种恒定的品质。除了质量，一些品牌还与生 活方式、个人形象或品味有关。Apple 产品（如 iPhone）的使用者会向其他人发出 信号，显示他们是现代的、新式和时尚的。路易威登（Louis Vuitton）手提包象征 着精致 (而且昂贵！) 的品味，一瓶中国茅台酒礼物也是如此。
