A Case for Applying the Theoretical Semiotics in the Practice of Trade Mark Law

The application of semiotics in trade mark law is an interdisciplinary endeavour in its infancy. The author traces its genesis in recent years and situates it within the context of general theoretical approaches, in particular of an interdisciplinary kind, appearing in the trade mark law literature in the past. The purposes for which such theories are applied, and questions of methodology arising from this, are examined. In particular, it is observed that semiotic theory has, by and large, been used for the purpose of debating legal policy in trade mark law (especially in the United States), and that this has given rise to argument about the extent to which semiotic theory can exert any normative force of its own upon the law. This article offers a different perspective. It is sought to demonstrate the usefulness of theoretical semiotics in solving trade mark law questions in practice. The author emphasises that this involves no threat to orthodox legal problem-solving methodology (whatever one may think of the orthodoxy), and in particular does not require the normative use of semiotic theory. Taking as a starting point the concept of ‹trade mark use’, and having regard to trade mark law and literature in Europe, the United States and Australia, the author proceeds to demonstrate the proposed approach by reference to some current problems in trade mark infringement.     

Pan Am makes the going great

Abstract

The great Boeing 707/321C cargo jet rolled off the runway toward the unloading ramp of Travis Air Force Base. Turned and stopped by the white-overalled technician waving a long, orange-coned flashlight, its doors rolled open to reveal the lightweight load it had brought on its return from the distant battlefield: one hundred and sixty-eight plastic-wrapped, aluminum-boxed bundles, the bodies of American soldiers killed in Vietnam. Another Pan American World Airways all-cargo charter was ready for unloading.     

Literary reviews

Autobiographies of the townships. Gone with the Twilight: a story of Sophiatown. Don Mattera London: Zed Press. 1987. 151pp. £19.95hb/£5.95pb

Kaffir Boy: growing out of apartheid. Mark Mathabane London: Pan. 1987. 354pp. £3.50pb

Subtle dissent: Malawi's poetry of protest. Nightwatcher, Nightsong. Frank M Chipasula Peterborough, UK: Paul Green. 1986. 25pp. £1.50pb

Napolo Poems. Steve Chimombo Zomba, Malawi: Manchichi Publishers. 1987. 55pp n/p

Selective blindness. Women in African Literature Today, Vol. 15. Edited by Eldred Jones, Eustace Palmer and Marjorie Jones London: James Currey/Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1987. 162pp. £7.50/$8.95pb

Ngambika: studies of women in African literature. Edited by Carole Boyce Davies and Anne Adams Graves Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1986. 298pp. $35.00hb/$11.95pb

Form and content. Reading the African Novel. Simon Gikandi London: James Currey. 1987. 172pp. £8.95pb

West African Poetry: a critical history. Robert Fraser Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986. 351pp. £35hb/£12.50pb

Textual adventure. Around the Day in Eighty Worlds. Julio Cortázar Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Christensen San Francisco: North Point Press. 1986. 293pp. J22.50hb

A Change of Light and other stories. Julio Cortazar Translated from the Spanish by Gregory Rabassa London: Arena. 1987. 275pp. £3.50pb

Master of the fantastic. The Dream of Heroes. Adolfo Bioy Casares Translated from the Spanish by Diana Thorold London: Quartet Books. 1987. 212pp. £9.95hb

Popular heroes. I Dreamt the Snow was Burning. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Malcolm Coad London/New York: Readers International. 1985. 220pp. 57.95/£4.95pb

Burning Patience. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver London/Methuen. 1988. 126pp. £9.95hb

Struggling towards a voice. Angel. Merle Collins London: The Women's Press. 1987. 294pp. £12.95hb/£4.95pb

Nowhere to hide. The Arkansas Testament. Derek Walcott London: Faber & Faber. 1988. 117pp. £3.95pb

Unity of the spirit. Modern Arabic Poetry: an anthology. Edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi New York: Columbia University Press. 1987. 498pp. Hb n/p

Defiant creativity. Let It Be Told: essays by Black women writers in Britain. Edited by Lauretta Ngcobo London: Pluto Press. 1987. 146pp. £12.95hb London: Virago Press. 1988. 176pp. £4.50pb

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Privatising the green police: the role of NGOs in wildlife law enforcement

This article examines the role of NGOs in wildlife law enforcement, drawing on empirical research conducted within UK environmental law enforcement but also drawing on a review of the academic literature and policy debates concerning NGOs and pressure group activity. It examines the theoretical basis for NGO actions and different policy perspectives, the ideologies employed by NGO's and how these manifest themselves in law enforcement policies and practice. While the focus of this essay is UK and US NGO activity with its professional enforcement activity and policy networks, the impact of wildlife and environmental NGOs is significant in a range of jurisdictions and is a vital component in effective policing of wildlife legislation.     

Ground zero – the semiotics of the boundary line

This paper explores the ambiguous nature of the graphic boundary line as a key element in the carto-realist conception of spatiality. Using examples (specifically the Line of Tordesillas and the UK border at Stansted Airport), the paper explores the complex and ambiguous nature of boundary lines as cartographic representations and concrete spatial practices. Drawing on Rotman's analysis of the significance of “zero” to modern semiotics and Wilden's theorization of digital and analogue communications systems, I argue that the graphic line is the spatial equivalent of a numeric zero – a meta-symbolic entity that is empty (the cartographic line, by definition, has no magnitude).     

Nation states vs. united empire: Effects of political competition on economic growth

Is political fragmentation, i.e., nation states, more favorable to economic growth than political unification, i.e., a united empire? This study develops an endogenous-growth model to analyze the growth effects of fragmentation versus unification. Under unification, the economy is vulnerable to excessive Leviathan taxation and possibly subject to the costs of unifying heterogeneous populations. Under fragmentation, the competing rulers are constrained in taxation but spend excessively on military defense. If capital mobility is above (below) a threshold, then fragmentation (unification) would favor growth, and this threshold is increasing in the degree of defense competition and decreasing in the costs of heterogeneity.