Registration of personal names as a trademark has existed for many years. There are countries that allow registration of personal names as a trademark and there are countries that prohibit it. The question is why do countries ban the registration of personal names as Trademark.
In Tanzania, the law allows the registration of a person's name as a trademark. Yet the law clearly states that, where the name or representation of any person appears on a mark, the Registrar shall, if he so require, before proceeding to registrar the mark be furnished with consent from him or, in the case of a person recently dead, from his legal representatives, and in default of such consent he may refuse to register the mark.
In that sense, if you need to register personal name or representation of such person as a trademark in Tanzania, you must get permission from that person before applying to register. This will avoid costs and objection from the Registrar. It will also avoid unnecessary opposition from a person whose name wants to be registered as a trademark.
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