What Is A Registered Trademark?
Image via Wikipedia
So, what is a registered trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive signature, sign or perhaps a catch phrase or slogan which is inherently associated with a specific person or company.
The Purpose of a Trademark
A trademark, or Mark as it is called, is used to identify a product, a service, or an event for a specific organization. It is used to help that organization stand out from others.
The image shows the seal of the United States Department of Commerce.
A seal is the “legal mark”– the signature if you will — of a company or oganisation.
Often Seals and Trademarks are confused, perhaps because they are both called “Marks”.
The company’s seal serves a different purpose from the Trademark, because it is used to show that legal assent has been given by the company or organisation whose seal it is, in respect of the document which is sealed.
A seal is not a Trademark, and it doesn’t confer the same rights as a Trademark.
The Legal Consequences Attaching to a Trademark
In legal terms, a trademark is also a type of “intellectual property” (or Brand) of the organization which uses it, and it cannot be used by any other organization.
Legally, if someone else were to use that symbol (or catch phrase or whatever) this would be a violation of trademark law and you would be entitled to legal remedy.
A Trademark Can Take Different Forms
Usually, a trademark is a symbol, a logo, or some type of design that is used in some way by the organization. It can be an image, a phrase, or just a single word. Sometimes it is a combination of these things, such as in a company name’s design.
In some cases a trademark can even be something that is used to help a person to stand out. You could easily see this in some celebrities. Who can forget Elvis’s hair?
Image via Wikipedia
Other celebrities have used Trademarks to help them to stand out as well.
Who will ever forget Paris Hilton, claiming that the phrase ”That’s Hot” was her personal Mark?
More usually a celebrity will be associated with their “signature tune” or their “tagline” (what they say at the end of their show) or their “byline” which is the phrase that others use to describe them — a good example, Morecambe and Wise “plays what I wrote”.
Your Trademark Is What You Make It
In short, a trademark is a brand name because it helps to identify your product with your name. While people don’t remember names well, most will remember visual symbols, especially when they are designed in such a way as to create a memorable image!
That image is often the company’s “logo” a special symbol they use on everything to reinforce their brand — for example the distinctive shape of the old style Coca Cola bottles.
Image via Wikipedia
The mere Name Coca Cola
is one of the most Famous Brands in the world, but when written as shown in the image, it is a Trademarked Brand Name.
What Kind of Trademark Should I Have?
Now, it’s not likely that your Trademark will become as famous as Coca Cola, but you should aim for something truly memorable and unique, something that people will associate with you and could never think of associating with anyone else.
That’s what Coca Cola’s Marks do for them, and that’s what you want your Mark to do for you.
Legal Definition of a Trademark in the USA
So what’s the legal definition of a trademark?
Let’s look at how the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) decides what is — and what is not — a Trademark.
They say that the proper (and hence what they have made the legal) purpose of a Trademark is to protect the “service mark” of a business.
According to the United States Patent Trademark Office, here’s what a “service mark” is,
“A service mark is any work, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from the services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services.”
From that, you can clearly see what a service mark can mean to your business.
So, How Does USPTO define a Trademark, then?
The United States Patent Trade Office says,
“a trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from the goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.”
Why give you these definitions used by the USPTO? It’s simple. These are the legalities of the process. And in the USA, the definition of what is and is not a “valid” — that is, legally enforceable — trademark, rests with USPTO.
Protecting Your Name
Regardless of whether you already have a registered trademark or are now beginning the process of applying for one, it’s smart thinking to protect your Name from the start.
Although the court have uniformly ruled against cybersquatters, who wants the trouble and expense of a court case? And who knows either, what a court might rule tomorrow? As the law presently stands, it helps to “advertise” your Name in a variety of commercial ways.
If you do not already hold the exact domain name match for your Name in the .com .org and .net TLDs (TLD is the acronym for Top Level Domain) together with the extension for your main country of operation – for example, .uk or .tv etc – then we highly reccommend that you secure those Names at once, before some cybersquatter beats you to it!
Moniker are a highly reputable domain register, and are at time of publishing offering the lowest available TLD registration fees, which can be under $7.
