# Ghost mark

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_mark
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{{Short description|Trademark registered without the intention of using it}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2023}}
{{Intellectual property}}
'''Ghost marks''' are [trademark](/source/trademark)s which closely simulate ordinary words or phrases used in the course of [trade](/source/trade), and which are not intended to be used as genuine trade marks.<ref name="def">{{cite book |title=Background Reading Material on Intellectual Property |date=1988 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |isbn=9789280501841 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaglAQAAIAAJ |access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref> This is not to be confused with the usage of "[ghost brand](/source/ghost_brand)" to refer to the revival of an abandoned trademark by a new company.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stim |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOlcEAAAQBAJ&dq=ghost+mark+zombie+trademark&pg=PA522 |title=Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference |date=2022-04-01 |publisher=Nolo |isbn=978-1-4133-2984-1 |pages=522}}</ref>

== Examples ==
In the case of ''[Imperial Group v. Philip Morris](/source/Imperial_Group_v._Philip_Morris)'' 1982 FSR 72, the [plaintiff](/source/plaintiff) endeavored to register the trade mark "MERIT" for [cigarette](/source/cigarette) products, but was unable to do so on the grounds that the trade mark was too descriptive. Instead, it registered the mark "NERIT", without any intention of using the mark, but in order to prevent other traders from using the mark "MERIT" because it would be considered too similar to the registered mark "NERIT". The intention was the obtain a [de facto](/source/de_facto) [monopoly](/source/monopoly) over the unregisterable mark "MERIT". 

The [defendant](/source/defendant) began using the mark "MERIT" for cigarettes and was sued by the plaintiff for infringing its mark "NERIT".

The [court](/source/court) struck down the registration for "NERIT" on the basis that the plaintiff had no genuine intention to use the mark (despite some "trivial and insubstantial" efforts at launching a NERIT-branded product).

Prior to the decision in ''Imperial Group'', ghost marks were a commonplace tactical procedure for trade mark owners. Ghost marks are now rarely filed following this decision. A somewhat similar protection to that offered by ghost marks are available through the use of [defensive trade mark](/source/defensive_trade_mark)s.

==References==
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Category:Trademark law

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{{Trademark law}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ghost mark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_mark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_mark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.