'The problem with the average consumer in European trade mark law' - Jennifer Davis: CIPIL Seminar

Jennifer Davis (University of Cambridge) gave an evening seminar entitled "The problem with the average consumer in European trade mark law" on Thursday 19 February 2015 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of CIPIL (the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law). The talk considers the problem of identifying the average consumer in EU trade mark law. It suggests that his or her position in case law relating to both distinctiveness and confusion is increasingly uncertain. It considers explanations for this uncertainty. These include challenges to neo-classical economic orthodoxy, changes in retailing including the rise of internet shopping and the expansion of the EU itself.The talk then considers whether the concept of the average consumer might be replaced by a more evidence based approach to assessing both distinctiveness and confusion. For more information see the CIPIL website at http://www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk