Examination of the Legal Fair Use Doctrine in Descriptive Trademarks

Legal fair use doctrine is an exception to exclusive rights of descriptive trademarks owner which permits third parties to use the trademark under particular circumstances. This doctrine is to increase the information of consumers on goods and services beside enhancing competition and preventing exclusivity by trademark owners. This doctrine has been considered in some legal systems implicitly and in some others explicitly. International agreements and regulations have somehow taken a look at this doctrine and made efforts to identify it. This article tries to investigate the elements of this doctrine and to show its status in International agreements and regulations.