THE ROLE OF LICENSING PRACTICES IN THE EXAMINATION OF THE SIMILARITY OF THE PRODUCTS COVERED BY THE TRADEMARKS

One of the factors considered in assessing the likelihood of confusion between two trademarks is the degree of similarity between the products covered by those trademarks. The risk of confusion increases the more the products are similar. The likelihood of confusion arises not only when its mistakenly assu-med that the trademarks concerned originate from the same undertaking but also when the mistaken assumption relates to the existence of an economic link between the undertakings. Considering that the economic relationship can also be established through the licensing, the question arises whether the licensing practices known for the products subject to evaluation are one of the factors to be considered in the product similarity examination.This study explains that image-related licensing activities must be kept apart from the factors related to the similarity of the products, whereas license sys-tems based on technology/knowledge transfer are capable of ensuring product similarity.