Harris Tweed the trade mark should have been granted exclusively to Harris, the Orb Trade Mark was granted. The Harris Tweed Association, a voluntary body, was formed to protect both the use of the Orb Trade Mark and to protect the use of the name ‘Harris Tweed’ from imitations. The original definition attached to the Orb Trade Mark stated that: Harris Tweed means a tweed, hand-spun, hand-woven and dyed by the crofters and cottars in the Outer Hebrides. In 1993, a new statutory body to guard the Orb Trade Mark, the Harris Tweed Authority, replaced the original Harris Tweed Association. Also in
Trade mark coexistence agreement Trade mark coexistence agreement A trade mark coexistence agreement is an agreement made by two parties to use a similar trademark for marketing purposes without interfering in each other's enterprises. Agreements of this nature are often made as parties only require regional use of their trademarks, and therefore other enterprises use of a trademark will not harm their business. Coexistence agreements can potentially also involve designs, copyrights and even patents. The purpose of a trade mark coexistence agreement is that often marks are used by multiple enterprises in "good faith". The absence of a formal agreement does not undermine any