Trademark

A trademark is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used in commerce to identify and distinguish goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods of another manufacturer or seller.  That is, a trademark indicates the source of goods.  A service mark is similar but is applicable to services of a provider.  A trademark or service mark can include standard characters, a special form drawing, or a combination of the two.  An example of a standard character mark is Nike® where regular letters make up the mark.  An example of a special form mark is the Nike® Swoosh® design that appears on many of their products.

Interestingly, a trademark or service mark can be a color, like John Deere® green, or a sound, like the Intel® tune.

Registration of a trademark or service mark is optional.  However, registration offers many benefits including the ability to bring an action for infringement in federal court.  Federal registration gives a trademark owner the right to use the “®” symbol.  Without registration, a trademark owner can, instead, use the symbol “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) to alert the public of a claim of ownership of the mark.

 

See also:

Trademark application

Trademark registration

 

 

 

Related links:

Useful Links – U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Filed under the Intellectual Property Law category.

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