What is A Trademark?
A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, or design which identifies and distinguishes a company’s goods or services from those of competitors. Some of the most famous examples are: Reebok® for shoes, Fuji® for film, the golden arches of McDonald’s, and the distinctive curved shape of a bottle of Coca-Cola®.
Trademark or a Service mark?
- A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
- A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.
Examples of Things that Can Serve as Trademarks
Words - Advil®, Fuji®
Names – Armani®, Versace®
Designs – golden arches of McDonald’s
Fictitious Characters – Harry Potter®, Shrek®
Abbreviations – BMW®,
Initials – IBM ®,
Package Design – Givenci bottle, Bulgary bottle
What’s the deference between Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights
Patents are registered before United States Patent and Trademark Office. A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The right by the patent grant is “the right to exclude others from making, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States.
Patent Examiner must research all of the “prior art” (scientific research and articles) in the world to determine whether the invention is new. A patent grants the owner the sole right to use or sell invention for 20 years.
Trademarks distinguish a company’s products or services from those of its competitors. A significant difference between trademarks, copyrights, and patents is that they may be renewed over and over again and can thus if properly maintained can be owned in perpetuity.
Copyrights protect the expression of original ideas or works of art. Works of art protected includes books, plays, movies, paints, sculpture, computer software, songs, etc. A modification of the previous expression of art by another individual can often be copyrighted. Copyrights are recorded by the Library of Congress and generally give the owner exclusive rights to the work for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years.
Learn About Trademark Registration
For additional information or free consultation,
email Law Offices of V. Chernobylsky
► Click here to begin a Trademark Application
