On 20 September 2021, Mr Leonardo Machado Pontes will defend his thesis on the theme "Trade Mark Boundaries and Fundamental Rights : a Comparative Approach Between the US and the EU", under the direction of Christophe Geiger, Professor at the University of Strasbourg.
The defence will take place at 5:00 pm (CET), in a dematerialized way, in view of the current health situation.
Please click on the link hereafter to follow the defence:
https://ceipi-edu.zoom.us/j/96013213449?pwd=VDVVVWtiL1BDdHVtSWVVYnBBZTJVQT09
Members of the jury:
- Lisa RAMSEY, Professor, University of San Diego School of Law, USA (rapporteur)
- Martin SENFTLEBEN, Professor, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (rapporteur)
- Allan ROCHA DE SOUZA, Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Andrea HAMANN, Professor, University of Strasbourg, France
- Christophe GEIGER, Professor at the University of Strasbourg (thesis supervisor).
Abstract:
This thesis compares the boundaries of the US and the EU trade mark law. These boundaries are first defined by considering the expansion of trade mark subject matter, infringement and the nature of the current defences available to third-parties. These boundaries are then considered in light of fundamental rights by rethinking the scope of the subject matter, infringement and trade mark registration practices. The expansion of trade mark protection creates numerous constitutional tensions in relation to the interaction between dilution, confusion, fair use and the Commerce Clause, the First Amendment and the Patent and Copyright Clause in the US Constitution. To the same effect, in the EU, trade marks must be harmonised with other guarantees laid down in the EUCFR and in the ECHR, such as the protection of freedom to conduct a business and freedom of expression. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom to conduct a business can reinstate the right of traders to the usage of descriptive words, enlarge defences against trade mark infringement and play a crucial role in protecting trade mark parodies. This thesis uncovers still-unknown normative and historical facts regarding the foundations of trade mark law in the nineteenth-century that are relevant to the role of constitutional adjudication today.
