Zombie trademark

A zombie trademark or "zombie mark" is an abandoned trademark from a brand or company which is revived by a new enterprise with no affiliation to the former brand. The purpose of reviving an abandoned trademark is to capitalize on the recognition and goodwill that consumers had for the older, unaffiliated brand. This can be especially useful to newcomers in an industry who want to reduce the cost and time needed to build up brand recognition and consumer trust, which they can accomplish by linking their products to an older trademark. Consumers may assume that goods and products under the zombie trademark are of the same quality they associate with the old brand.

Legality

In US law, zombie trademarks may be legal in certain circumstances. Zombie trademarks do not violate section 2a of the Lanham Act, which prohibits the false suggestion of a connection with an existing trademark, because there is no existing entity which claims ownership of the trademark and can be harmed by association. In practice, the original trademark owners have filed suits against "zombie trademarks" that revive their abandoned trademarks. These cases are generally based on the argument that the original brand owners still have an interest in the goodwill linked to the "dead" trademark, or that consumers will be deceived by the misleading branding.

The legality of re-using trademarks which have been removed from registration has been contested in countries such as Singapore and New Zealand.