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Download or read book The Wipo Joint Recommendation Protecting Well-Known Marks and the Forgotten Goodwill written by Maxim Grinberg and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A recent Joint Recommendation from the World Intellectual Property Organization dealing with protection of well-known trademarks is in stark contrast with U.S. trademark law and its underlying policies. While U.S. trademark law protects foreign trademarks in the territory where the trademark has established its goodwill among consumers, the Joint Recommendation extends protection of such foreign trademarks to the entire territory of the United States even if the trademark has not established its reputation in the entire United States. My Article argues that the overbroad territorial protection proposed by the Joint Recommendation undermines important policies of U.S. trademark law: it allows the attainment of enforceable trademark rights without investment in the trademark's goodwill and diminishes the quantity of available trademarks to U.S. entrepreneurs, raising their cost of entry into the market. Although the Joint Recommendation is non-binding, some countries, including the United States, have incorporated its provisions into their bilateral agreements. A recent U.S. District Court decision involving a famous Cuban cigar company that sued a U.S. corporation for infringement of its COHIBA trademark referenced the Joint Recommendation as well. This Article attempts to stimulate discussion about the implications of adopting the broad territorial protection of trademarks as advocated by the Joint Recommendation.