THE PHENOMENON OF THE OSCAR BRAND'S POPULARIZATION.

As the ceremony that awards the Academy Award better known as “the Oscar ” it may seem useful to recall the events linked to the brand that bears the name of the famous film award.

THE' Oscar It was first awarded on May 16, 1929, and its nickname was given by Margaret Herrick, an employee at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who, seeing the statuette, said: “He looks just like my uncle.” Oscar !”

THE' Oscar is a registered trademark owned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a few years ago it brought the Italian Sommelier Association to court before the Court of Rome, guilty of having established "the Oscar of Wine”.

Well, in 2016 the Court of Cassation confirmed on the one hand the validity of the trademark Oscar with reference to the film industry sector, consequently granting the owner, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), full rights to its exclusive use.

On the other hand, the brand declared Oscar lapsed due to vulgarization in relation to services of a different nature, in this case services relating to education and entertainment in class 41 of the Nice Classification.

The phenomenon of vulgarization occurs when a trademark is no longer used to distinguish the products of one entrepreneur from those of another entrepreneur but, simply, to identify the product (regardless of who produces it).

The Court of Cassation has established that the discrimination for determining the vulgarization of the trademark Oscar it is the context in which it is used.

If used to identify the awards ceremony the brand Oscar It's entirely valid. But, used in other contexts, the term becomes a catch-all term for an award or event tied to excellence.