The branding iron as sui generis trademark protection

Abstract

Introduction: Brazilian trademark law belongs to the field of intellectual property and is governed by Law 9,279/96, which, as regards trademarks, sets out the concepts and the elements required to acquire the right to use, on an exclusive basis, a specific sign for a given branch of service or product within a type of market. Objectives: the study examined the concept of the trademark, or brand, in order to understand the evolution of the institute over the years, leading to an interdisciplinary, approximative and comparative study of brands and cattle branding irons. Methodology: following a qualitative research method, four topics were written, starting from the analysis of brand and trademark, moving through the semiotics of Peirce and Saussure, then setting out the history, tradition, heraldic marking and symbolism of branding irons, and finally culminating in the discussion of these concepts by associating them with the theory of objects. Conclusion: understanding the broadening of the trademark concept beyond the indication of ownership and differentiation is the focus of this work, as is ascertaining its immersion in cultural and metaphysical objects.