슬로건 상표의 식별력의 판단기준에 관한 연구 -한국과 미국의 판례를 중심으로-

The topic of this article is the protection of slogans as trademarks in Korea. The issue is what the test for the inherent distinctiveness of slogans should be. To find out the answer to the issue, this article examines the U.S. court cases in the sixties and seventies which had developed the test and considerations to determine a slogan to be inherently distinctive. After extensive cases studies of U.S. experiences, this article concludes as follows. First, in determining distinctiveness, slogans should be observed in its entirety. Second, slogans with a double meaning may be distinctive, if the double meaning is strong enough to make the slogan function as a source indicator of the goods. Third, slogans with rhyming or alliteration may be distinctive, if they sound phonetically fanciful. Fourth, slogans are distinctive if they are informational in an indirect or obscure way. Fifth, descriptive slogans can also be distinctive, if, through use, they acquire secondary meaning and function as a source indicator of the goods or services.