Celebrity Names as Trademarks
In recent years it has been identified a marked tendency; that all those people with reputable professions or also the known as “famous”, registered their names as trademarks. This tendency is product of the association to the particular performance or capacity of such character with important commercial alliances that these people get to develop to identify products or services.
This provision is a modification that it’s been achieved over the well-known commercial strategy of endorsement, where a famous or well-known character reputation endorsed or recommended the use of a product, a brand or a service.
Most of the celebrity names that were registered as trademarks, were the names of the designers themselves, such as Versace, Giorgio Armani, Lamborghini, Harley Davidson; whose names identify fragrances, footwear, clothing, vehicles or others. However, now we see trademarks that consist in names and pseudonyms of celebrities whose profession is completely alien to the products that are identified under their names, and who in some cases are muses for those products, services or designs.
This new preference is born from the fame that a character may eventually develop among their fans and who aspire to reach their style or the qualities that characterize them. Among some celebrity trademarks we could find Elvis Presley, Fernando Botero, Antonio Banderas, Messi, Carlos Santana, Ivanka Trump; whose names have been register to identify and explore rights over products or services in different categories, and that are not subject to the profession of the celebrity. The objective of such protection is to avoid the use or exploitation of said name by third parties.
In Central America, the registry of a person’s name can only be granted to the same person or to a third party with the express consent of that person or its descendants, when it corresponds. However, it is possible to acquire the registry of a name or pseudonyms in an exclusive way, despite that such indicative may be shared with others. The particularities of the registration of names in an international level vary according to each country and region, keeping a certain level of relation with the previously exposed practices.
Graciela Cruz Raudales
Senior Associate
García & Bodán
Honduras