Indonesia – The Origins Of Brand Protection.

24 November 2021

Brands have become an essential factor that cannot be separated from the modern market. When it comes to mentioning well-known brands, Partners certainly has no problem giving examples of global brands, such as Adidas or Apple. But do not assume that the brand is a new concept that is only relevant for modern society. In fact, since the beginning of humans began to trade, there has been a habit to leave special marks that are intended as distinguishing elements. How did this custom eventually develop into the trademark as we know it today? So what gave birth to the idea of ​​starting brand protection? This is the origin!

The origins of the brand concept can be traced back thousands of years BC. One of the earliest known examples dates back to about 5000 BC, where Chinese people made pottery by including the name of the reigning emperor, as well as the location of manufacture and the name of the creator. A similar practice applies to gold coins and seals, which are found with unique images to identify the owner or producer.

People in the Minoan period are also thought to have left marks for goods, animals, and even humans. Meanwhile craftsmen in Ancient Egyptian society used to include unique images and markings (referred to as hieroglyphs ) on their products to make them easier to identify. Several centuries later, a similar custom was carried out by Roman craftsmen. They also leave their mark on everything they produce, such as cutlery, vases, tombstones, lead ammunition, and even plumbing.

However, these ancient societies are not the oldest civilizations that began to leave a distinguishing mark in their work. Even more amazing, stone age cave paintings prove that humans have left a mark on livestock products at least 20 thousand years, or even more before the Minoan Period and the era of ancient Egypt.

Of course, the intentions behind the use of signs by these ancient societies were not like ours today. The concept of a brand as we know modern society does not yet exist, there is no understanding of broad brand ownership let alone protection against it. These communities generally leave IDs just to simply claim ownership, or even just to show off their work.

The first official legislation governing trademarks only appeared after the ancient peoples started the practice of relics of marks as goods. In England in the 13th century, bakers allegedly often cheated on buyers. They are suspected of often giving bread with pieces slightly smaller than it should be but still using the same price, like a butcher who outsmarted the scales. To control this, the English Parliament under King Henry III passed   in 1266 a law requiring bakers to leave a mark on the bread they made. So that the seller who cheated even an ounce can be tracked down and brought to justice. Offenders are also subject to heavy fines and must forfeit all unmarked bread.

The idea of ​​​​recognizing trademarks as objects that can be owned began to develop in France in the 13th century. At that time, violations and disputes regarding trademarks were rampant, so that France often imposed severe penalties. A decree issued in 1544 stated that offenders could have their hands chopped off, while a 14th-century decree declared that those who sold wine with false labels were hanged. Gradually, the French government finally issued the world’s first comprehensive trademark law, namely Loi du 23 Juin 1857 sur les Marques de Fabrique et de Commerce which was passed in 1857. This was the beginning of trademark protection law as we know it today.

After France, the UK has been a very instrumental country in the development of trademark protection. In 1862, England followed in the footsteps of the French government by passing the ” Merchandise Marks Act ” which sanctioned sellers of products with counterfeit trademarks. This was followed by the passage of a law establishing a system for registering trade, namely the ” Trade Marks Registration Act ” in 1875.

Jump a few decades later, to be exact in 1838, England passed the Trademark Act . There are many new breakthroughs from this law, including the first implementation of a registration system on the basis of ” intent-to-use ” or the intention to use. Moreover, this is also the beginning of the UK’s transition towards using an inspection-based trademark registration system. In its time, Britain was considered the most advanced trademark protection system in the world, and the 1938 Trademark Act   was the inspiration for modern trademark protection systems in other countries.

In another country, Germany passed a trademark law, namely Gesetz über Markenschutz on May 1, 1875. Nine years later, Japan passed the country’s first trademark law. While in America the first laws regarding trademarks were passed in 1870. However, the Supreme Court stopped this law because it was considered to exceed the powers granted to Congress by the Copyright Clause . Congress responded by passing the Trade Mark Act of 1881 under the Commerce Clause , which passed Constitutional scrutiny. In 1946, Congress passed the Lanham Act , this regulation is still in effect in America today.

From the facts above, it can be concluded that brand protection is not a new concept created and imposed by the government on the market, but a form of controlling something that naturally arises in the mind of a trader. Because basically, it’s very common for humans to want recognition, as well as protection, for what they create. Trademark protection laws may be relatively new, but the basic concept has been around since humans started buying and selling.

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