Trademark Basics
07/28/08
Krista Robertson

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Trademarks, often known and used as brand names, are a part of everyday life. The average person sees or hears hundred of trademarks each day!

Trademarks are adjectives. Not nouns or verbs. They are words, names, symbols, designs, phrases, sounds, scents, or color schemes that identify the products and services of a business or organization and distinguish them from the products and services of others.

The purpose of a trademark is to prevent confusion about the source of the product or service.

Selecting trademark is not always easy. It can be tempting to choose a word that is "catchy" and describes the features of the product or service. Unfortunately, descriptive terms generally cannot be protected under trademark law. It best to keep your mark very distinctive which will help the mark become better known. The strongest marks have no meaning at all.

The strength of a trademark can be categorized as:

Fanciful or coined marks
Words that have been made up have no meaning other than as a brand name, ex. Kodak for camera and Exxon for petroleum products.

Arbitrary marks
Words that may have a common meaning but do not relate to the product or service, ex. Apple for computers and Samsung for televisions.

Suggestive marks
Marks that suggest an attribute or benefit of the products or services but doesn't necessarily describe the products, ex. Microsoft for software and Volkswagen for automobiles.

Descriptive marks
Terms that describe the product or service. The terms usually cannot be trademark unless the public has come to recognize them as marks. Ex. Blue Ribbon for beer and Homemakers for housekeeping.

Whatever mark you choose, be sure a proper search is conducted before putting your mark to use. It possible that someone may already have the rights to the same mark. Remember…lack of knowledge is normally not a defense in trademark infringement.

Source: Trademark Basics: A Guide for Business, International Trademark Association 2006©