TY - JOUR
T1 - Work, Identity, and the Regulation of Markets
T2 - A Study of Trademark Law in the United States and Germany
AU - Assaf-Zakharov, Katya
AU - Herzog, Lisa
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 American Bar Foundation.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - This article considers how legal systems capture different cultural perceptions of work in an individual's life. We inquire how two models - human capital, based on the works of Adam Smith; and vocation, based on the works of G. W. F. Hegel - are reflected in legal regulations and judicial rhetoric in the United States and Germany. Specifically, we examine how these two legal systems treat the practice of using personal names - the most direct referents to individuals' identities - in business. We discuss three sets of cases: cases involving the use of personal names as trademarks, cases involving conflicts between parties with similar names, and cases involving the transfer of rights in personal names. The article demonstrates that the US legal system treats work as a commercial asset, as human capital in Smith's sense, whereas German law perceives work as an integral part of one's identity, echoing the Hegelian line of vocation.
AB - This article considers how legal systems capture different cultural perceptions of work in an individual's life. We inquire how two models - human capital, based on the works of Adam Smith; and vocation, based on the works of G. W. F. Hegel - are reflected in legal regulations and judicial rhetoric in the United States and Germany. Specifically, we examine how these two legal systems treat the practice of using personal names - the most direct referents to individuals' identities - in business. We discuss three sets of cases: cases involving the use of personal names as trademarks, cases involving conflicts between parties with similar names, and cases involving the transfer of rights in personal names. The article demonstrates that the US legal system treats work as a commercial asset, as human capital in Smith's sense, whereas German law perceives work as an integral part of one's identity, echoing the Hegelian line of vocation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073336890&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2019.8
DO - https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2019.8
M3 - مقالة
SN - 0897-6546
VL - 44
SP - 1083
EP - 1112
JO - Law and Social Inquiry
JF - Law and Social Inquiry
IS - 4
ER -