閱讀理解專項模擬題Use of Trademarks
A company must determine whether or not to apply for trademark protection under the federal Lanham Act of 1946 or state law. A trademark gives a firm exclusive use of a “word，symbol，combination of letters or numbers， or other devices such as distinctive packaging used to identify the goods of one company and to distinguish them from other companies” for as long as they are marketed.
Trademarks are voluntary and require a registration procedure that can be time consuming， complex， and expensive. A multinational firm must register trademarks in every country in which it operates. In order for a trademark to be legally protected， it must have a distinctive meaning that does not describe an entire product category， not be confusingly similar to other trademarks， be used in interstate commerce， and not imply characteristics that the product does not possess. A surname by itself cannot be registered， because anyone can do business under his or her name. However， an surname can be registered if used to describe a specific business (e.g.，Roy Roger’s Restaurants).
When brands become too popular or descriptive of a product category， they run the risk of becoming public property. Then a firm loses its trademark position. Brands that are fighting to remain exclusive trademarks include Xerox， Levi’s Frigidaire， Formica， Kleenex， and Teflon. Brands of former trademarks that are now considered generic and therefore public property are cellophane(賽璐芬)，aspirin， kerosene(煤油)，cola， linoleum(漆布)，and monopoly.
DuPont used careful research to retain a trademark for Teflon. As company survey showed that 68 percent of the consumers questioned identified Teflon as a brand name. This enabled DuPont to win a court case against a Japanese firm using the name Teflon. On the other hand， the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “Monopoly”was a generic term that could be used by any game maker. Likewise， a federal court ruled that Miller could not trademark the single word Lite for its lower-calorie(低熱量) beer.
Trademark protection is essential to many firms because exclusive use of brands and symbols enables them to maintain long-established images and market shares.
1According to the passage， a trademark can .
Aexclude other firms from a business
Binclude only one firm in the business
Chelp to identify the goods of one firm as exclusive
Ddistinguish the goods of one firm from those of other firms
2 Which of the following statements is not true according to te second paragraph?
AA firm can use a trademark without application for trademark protection.
BA multinational has different trademarks in different countries in which it operates.
CA trademark of a product must be so special as to distinguish the product from other similar products
D A surname can be used as a trademark for a specific business
3 They run the risk of becoming public property. It means one of the following： .
AThey are likely to be used by the general public
BIt is risky for them to be used by the general public
CIt will be dangerous if they become public property
DThey find it risky to become public property
4 Cellophane， aspirin， kerosene ， cola， etc.， .
Aare under trademark protection
Bare no longer thought of as trademarks
Care running the risk of becoming public property
Dremain exclusive trademarks
5 In its fight to retain an exclusive trademark for Teflon， one of the things DuPont did is .
Aidentifying it as a brand name
Bwinning a court case against a Japanese firm
Ccarrying out a survey
Dappealing to the Supreme Court
參考答案：1.B 2.A 3.B 4.C 5.A 6.B 7.C