Linking international trademark databases to inform IP research and policy

Researchers and policy makers are concerned with many international issues regarding trademarks, such as trademark squatting, cluttering, and dilution. Trademark application data can provide an evidence base to inform government policy regarding these issues, and can also produce quantitative insights into economic trends and brand dynamics. Currently, national trademark databases can provide insight into economic and brand dynamics at the national level, but gaining such insight at an international level is more difficult due to a lack of internationally linked trademark data. We are in the process of building a harmonised international trademark database (the "Patstat of trademarks"), in which equivalent trademarks have been identified across national offices. We have developed a pilot database that incorporates 6.4 million U.S., 1.3 million Australian, and 0.5 million New Zealand trademark applications, spanning over 100 years. The database will be extended to incorporate trademark data from other participating intellectual property (IP) offices as they join the project. Confirmed partners include the United Kingdom, WIPO, and OHIM. We will continue to expand the scope of the project, and intend to include many more IP offices from around the world. In addition to building the pilot database, we have developed a linking algorithm that identifies equivalent trademarks (TMs) across the three jurisdictions. The algorithm can currently be applied to all applications that contain TM text; i.e. around 96% of all applications. In its current state, the algorithm successfully identifies ~ 97% of equivalent TMs that are known to be linked a priori, as they have shared international registration number through the Madrid protocol. When complete, the internationally linked trademark database will be a valuable resource for researchers and policy-makers in fields such as econometrics, intellectual property rights, and brand policy. (Author)