ABSTRACT

This article argues that brands, with trade marks as their legal anchors, are important sources of corporate power and have facilitated a significant expansion of this power. Trade mark law has contributed to the development of firms and to the rise of powerful business actors that rely on strong marketing presences based on brands to attract demand, but use flexible supply chains to meet this demand. This article considers the relationship between trade marks and brands and the kinds of corporate power to which brands can contribute. It shows how brands have enabled some firms to transform their activities in response to changing economic and social conditions and even to transform themselves as business actors. Whilst trade mark law provides some mitigation of the power that brands can confer, it can still be substantial and to some extent of questionable social value.

摘要

本文认为，以商标为法律锚点的品牌是公司实力的重要来源，并促进了这种实力的显着扩展。商标法为公司的发展和强大的商业参与者的崛起做出了贡献，这些商业参与者依靠基于品牌的强大营销机构来吸引需求，但使用灵活的供应链来满足这种需求。本文考虑了商标和品牌之间的关系以及品牌可以贡献的公司权力类型。它显示了品牌如何使一些公司能够改变其活动以应对不断变化的经济和社会状况，甚至使自己转变为商业参与者。商标法虽然可以减轻品牌赋予的权力，