The Role of Trademarks on Online Retail Platforms: An EU Trademark Law Perspective GRUR Int 70, 7 (2021), 633 - 643.
This article analyses the possible implications of the application of AI on online retail platforms for the role of EU trademarks and in particular their functions in this digital environment. It comes to the conclusion that the influence of AI on the importance of functions of origin and quality may differ from that on the accessory functions. Also, to a certain extent, this influence may vary depending on the parameters under which AI is set to function. Nevertheless, regardless of the parameters, it seems likely that the importance of the origin and quality functions may be diminished. In contrast, the significance of the accessory trademark functions may depend on the parameters under which AI is set to operate. If the goal of an AI implemented by a platform is to satisfy the needs of a consumer whose main preference is to acquire products with a specific trademark then ideally such an AI should seek to achieve this goal and, as a result, that mark may become a criterion for offering a product or service or acquiring it on behalf of the user. In this case, accessory functions may gain importance on online retail platforms, in turn encouraging trademark owners to invest more in the goodwill and attractiveness of their marks. However, if the parameters of the AI are such that it offers or makes purchases based on criteria that only serve the commercial interests of online retail platforms or their clients, and the trademarks preferred by consumers are not among such criteria, the importance of accessory functions may be weakened.
