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Trademarks Squatters: Evidence from Chile

Author

Listed:
  • Carsten Fink

    (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.)

  • Christian Helmers

    (Santa Clara University, United States of America)

  • Carlos Ponce

    (ILADES-Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago de Chile, Chile)

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of 'trademark squatting' – a situation in which someone other than the original brand owner obtains a trademark on a brand. We develop a model that shows how squatting results from market uncertainty that leads brand owners to rationally forgo registering trademarks, creating opportunities for squatting. We create an algorithm to identify squatters in the Chilean trademark register and show empirically that squatting is a persistent and systematic phenomenon. Using data on trademark oppositions, we find that squatting leads brand owners that have been exposed to squatting to 'over-protect' their brands by registering disproportionately many trademarks and covering classes other than those directly related to their products and services. Trademark squatting, therefore, creates a strategic, albeit excessive, response by brand owners which inflates trademark filings.

Suggested Citation

  • Carsten Fink & Christian Helmers & Carlos Ponce, 2014. "Trademarks Squatters: Evidence from Chile," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 22, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    • Handle: RePEc:wip:wpaper:22
    as

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    File URL: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_econstat_wp_22.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trademark; squatter; strategic behavior; Chile.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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