History of Trademark

The history of marks is nearly as old as the history of mankind and religion. From earliest times, humans have used marks to designate ownership, sometimes as property owner or sometimes as manufacturer. It is considered probable that primitive humans used marks to indicate the ownership of livestock. Even in the Harappan Civilization marks of trade with foreign countries such as Mesopotamia and Babylonia were found embossed on articles. The earlist marks were probably those marking animals so a farmer, rancher or lord could distinguish what animals belonged to whom. Since early commerce was limited to the immediate locality few merchants needed marks on their products. However, as commerce developed, marks began to serve a variety of purposes. Egyptian structures erected as early as 4000 B.C. show quarry marks and stonecutters' signs. Artifacts from places such as ancient Egypt have been found with various symbols carved thereon for religious and superstitious reasons. "Potters marks" appeared in relics left from the Greek and Roman periods and were used to identify the maker (potter) of a particular vessel. Roman signboards were found in the ruins at Pompeii. Symbols on goods used in ancient Rome and other countries near the Mediterranean sea had similar characteristics to the trademarks of today. Around the 10th century, a mark called a "merchants mark" appeared, and symbols among traders and merchants increased significantly. These marks, which can be considered one kind of "proprietary mark," essentially were used to prove ownership rights of goods whose owners were missing due to shipwrecks, pirates, and other disasters. In guilds of the middle ages, craftsmen and merchants affixed marks to goods in order to distinguish their work from the makers of low quality goods and to maintain trust in the guilds. These marks, known as "production marks" helped consumers to identify and assign responsibility for inferior products, such as, goods short in weight, goods comprised of poor quality materials, and goods made with inferior craftsmanship.

Slowly as the Industrial Revolution sparked the official advent of marks began to actively identify the source of goods. At present time, all the nations in world have enacted legislation protecting the marks of traders/service providers etc. Civil protection was gradually and systematically established against those who would use another's mark with out permission ("infringers"). Also now special criminal laws have been enacted protecting trademarks of the proprietor against counterfeiting, frauds etc. The law of trade marks is formalized with the process of registration which gave exclusivity to a trader right to deal in goods using a symbol or mark of some sort to distinguish his goods from similar goods sold by other traders. Trade mark is an indicator of exclusivity in trade under that mark and this right cannot be transferred, save and otherwise only for a limited right of user via license.