Symbols have been used to identify the ownership or origin of articles for several centuries. As early as 5,000 B.C., markings on pottery have been found by archaeologists. Cave drawings in southwestern Europe show bison with symbols on their flanks. Archaeological discoveries of ancient Greek and Roman inscriptions on sculptural works, paintings, vases, precious stones, glassworks, bricks, etc. reveal some features which are thought to be marks or symbols.  These marks were affixed by the creator or maker of the article, or by public authorities as indicators for the payment of tax, for disclosing state monopoly, or devices for the settlement of accounts between an entrepreneur and his workmen.

 

In the Middle Ages, the use of many kinds of marks on a variety of goods was commonplace.  Fifteenth century England saw the compulsory use of identifying marks in certain trades.  There were the baker's mark on bread, bottlemaker's marks, smith's marks, tanner's marks, watermarks on paper, etc. Every guild had its own mark and every master belonging to it had a special mark of his own.  The marks were not trademarks but police marks compulsorily imposed by the sovereign to let the public know that the goods were not "foreign" goods smuggled into an area where the guild had a monopoly, as well as to aid in tracing defective work or poor craftsmanship to the artisan. For a similar reason, merchants also used merchants' marks.  Merchants dealt in goods acquired from many sources and the marks enabled them to identify and reclaim their goods upon recovery after shipwreck or piracy.

With constant use, the mark acquired popularity and became voluntarily adopted.  It was not intended to create or continue monopoly but to give the customer an index or guarantee of quality. It was in the late 18th century when the industrial revolution gave rise to mass production and distribution of consumer goods that the mark became an important instrumentality of trade and commerce. By this time, trademarks did not merely identify the goods; they also indicated the goods to be of satisfactory quality, and thereby stimulated further purchases by the consuming public. Eventually, trademarks came to symbolize the goodwill and business reputation of the owner of the product and became a property right protected by law.

The common law developed the doctrine of trademarks and tradenames "to prevent a person from palming off his goods as another's, from getting another's business or injuring his reputation by unfair means, and, from defrauding the public." Subsequently, England and the United States enacted national legislation on trademarks as part of the law regulating unfair trade. It became the right of the trademark owner to exclude others from the use of his mark, or of a confusingly similar mark where confusion resulted in diversion of trade or financial injury.  At the same time, the trademark served as a warning against the imitation or faking of products to prevent the imposition of fraud upon the public. These functions subsequently evolved, something which will be discussed in a separate post.

(This discussion is from the case Mirpuri vs. Court of Appeals, decided by the Supreme Court in 1999. So, you see, reading court cases could be informative, and not entirely boring. =)