2023-24 HUJ Faculty Exchange Lecture with Dr. Katya Assaf-Zakharov: Magical Thinking in Trademark Law

This lecture is part of the Morley Koffman, Q.C. Memorial Allard School of Law UBC and Hebrew University Law Faculty Professor Exchange Program.

Event Description

People in all societies have a tendency toward magical thinking. This human inclination is extensively exploited by modern advertising, which routinely suggests that consuming goods will make us successful, happy, and fulfilled. In this article, I suggest that such advertising creates a system of beliefs resembling a totemic religion. In this religion, brands perform the role of sacred objects. Trademark law initially aims at preventing consumer confusion. Yet, today, famous trademarks are extensively protected against non-confusing associations. I argue that this broad protection is based on magical thinking. Pointing out the parallels between the laws of magic and trademark doctrines, such as the doctrine of dilution, I suggest that famous marks are legally treated as magical, sacred objects. This legal approach amounts to endorsing the commercial religion of brands.

This lecture is eligible for 1 hour of CPD credit.

Hebrew University Of Jerusalem

This event is co-sponsored with the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Please RSVP by February 1, 2024 for in-person attendance.

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Speaker

Katya Assaf-Zakharov - Photo

Dr. Katya Assaf-Zakharov studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and wrote her Ph.D. at the University of Munich, working as a scholar of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property. She is a faculty member at the Law School and the European Forum of the Hebrew University.

Until recently, Katya’s research focused on intellectual property, and sought to expose latent tendencies behind various legal doctrines in this field. In the last years, she started writing on the semantics of urban spaces. Together with a research team, she is conducting urban experiments that seek to test novel ways of making individuals visible in the public space of their cities, as well as making cities more inclusive and multi-voiced.

 

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