A trademark lives only when it is used.
The Polaroid brand is a perfect example of this.
The brand was iconic, but brand recognition did not save the business from trouble. Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and in 2008 it ceased production of its iconic instant film. Millions of cameras remained on the market, but the product with which the brand was associated began to disappear from the market.
And then came The Impossible Project: an initiative that took over Polaroid’s last factory in the Netherlands and began reproducing film for old cameras. Later, after acquiring the rights to the Polaroid brand and IP, the project became Polaroid Originals, and subsequently reverted to the name Polaroid.
From a trademark perspective, it is important to remember that a trademark is not merely a relic of a once-powerful brand.
Even a highly recognisable mark, in order to retain its function, must be genuinely used in trade for the specific goods or services for which it was registered.
