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Brands and Corporate Power

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Andrew Griffiths

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).

Abstract

This article argues that brands, with trade marks as their legal anchors, are important sources of corporate power and have facilitated a significant expansion of this power. Trade mark law has contributed to the development of firms and to the rise of powerful business actors that rely on strong marketing presences based on brands to attract demand, but use flexible supply chains to meet this demand. This article considers the relationship between trade marks and brands and the kinds of corporate power to which brands can contribute. It shows how brands have enabled some firms to transform their activities in response to changing economic and social conditions and even to transform themselves as business actors. Whilst trade mark law provides some mitigation of the power that brands can confer, it can still be substantial and to some extent of questionable social value.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Griffiths A

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Corporate Law Studies

Year: 2018

Volume: 18

Issue: 1

Pages: 75-112

Online publication date: 03/07/2017

Acceptance date: 27/03/2017

Date deposited: 06/04/2017

ISSN (print): 1473-5970

ISSN (electronic): 1757-8426

Publisher: Taylor and Francis

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14735970.2017.1317131

DOI: 10.1080/14735970.2017.1317131

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