Rethinking Trademark Law: How Consumer Protections, Sustainability Goals, and New Technologies Could Shape Its Normative Foundations

Date: February 12, 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Speaker: Christophe Gösken (PhD Candidate, Center for Law & Economics ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

In jurisdictions and industries increasingly shaped by consumer protection regulations, sustainability objectives, and emerging technologies, the normative foundations of trademark law are being increasingly challenged. Focusing on the fashion sector and the Digital Product Passport (DPP) Regulation, this presentation explores how these emerging forces could soon influence consumer choices and reshape legal frameworks. The project shows that DPPs—which provide consumers with verifiable references, information, and narratives about a product’s authenticity—could reduce trademarks’ role in lowering search costs and guiding purchasing decisions. This development challenges established economic rationales for trademark protection, underscoring the need to recalibrate and modernise trademark theory.

Christophe Gösken is a PhD Candidate at the Center for Law & Economics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He is interested in the changing nature of intellectual property and the influence of the law in the process of cultural diffusion. In his ongoing projects, he empirically analyses the use of new technologies for managing and valuing IP rights, particularly in the luxury industry. He is also investigating the legal and commercial implications of using e-commerce platforms to sell cultural property. Furthermore, he analyses consumer preferences and social norms about anti-piracy laws.

Moderator: Taorui Guan, Assistant Professor & Deputy Director, Law and Technology Centre, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law

To register for this event, please go to https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=98553.

For inquiries, please contact Ms. Grace Chan at mcgrace@hku.hk / 3917 4727.