Ulysses and the Fiction of Trademark

The essay reads Joyce through the prism of trademark registration law as it began in the late 1800s and evolved during Joyce’s life and career. It argues that Joyce, and modernist culture more broadly, share concerns that underlie the legal regime governing trademark. Trademark is based on the premises of instant recognition and distinction, thus differing from the contemporary regime of copyright whose emphasis is on originality. The laws necessitate that trademarks have no representational connection to commodities and thus are linked only through the authority of the state. Trademark laws, designed to protect consumers from fraudulent vendors, collapse recognition of the trademark with consumption of its referent. Joyce explores these ideas in Ulysses, particularly in the moment when Leopold Bloom fixates on the Bass Ale trademark, and throughout Finnegans Wake. Mirroring trademark, Joyce’s style created recognizable visual and linguistic shorthand to distinguish himself and the experience of reading his work. His foregrounding of style makes style in the abstract his distinguishing characteristic.