Trade Marks at the Limit is a collection of current, informed and original essays on different aspects of a topic that unites trade mark owners, practitioners and potential infringers alike - the fine borderline that separates permitted use of another business's trade mark from a use that constitutes trade mark infringement. This important and groundbreaking book first examines the international legal framework for regulating unauthorised use of the trade marks of others. Then writers from both sides of the Atlantic and from Australia look at the practical problems and conceptual issues that the courts face in striking a balance between the needs of trade mark owners, their competitors, businesses that provide downstream services, and also consumers.

The authors address industry-specific issues involving the financial services sector and consumer goods as well as problems raised by comparative advertising, the need to protect free speech, the problems faced when dealing with non-traditional trade marks and the special case of multilingual jurisdictions. Authored by leading legal practitioners and consultants in related sectors, Trade Marks at the Limit is the first book to bring these issues together under the banner of permitted but unauthorised trade mark use.