Trademark protection is granted for words, symbols and graphics that identify products of one firm as distinct from others. The main purpose of trademarks is to ensure that the customers are not subjected to any confusion with respect to the source of the product.
One of the most important needs for a trademark is that it should be distinctly identifiable and different from other marks existing in the market. The distinctiveness of a trademark can be determined on the basis of its placement in one of the trademark categories - descriptive, fanciful, suggestive, and generic.
A descriptive mark is representative of the quality or some other features of the product like its utility or size. Unlike those marks that are unique to a particular commodity, a descriptive mark is not unique and is not capable of being trademarked unless it has acquired a secondary meaning and the customers start linking it exclusively with the commodity.
Suggestive marks on the other hand indicate a particular feature of the product. However, customers might have to use their imagination to figure out the real relationship between the commodity and the mark as there is no obvious link between the two. For example, footwear named 'Hush Puppies' are suggestive of comfortable shoes, which make sure that your feet do not develop sores. The underlying reason behind the name is that 'barking dogs' is used as a slang for sore feet in some places in America.
Fanciful marks on the other hand have no link whatsoever with the nature or quality of the item. For instance, there is no justifiable connection between the logo of a half bitten apple and the brand name 'Apple' to the computer manufacturer. Similarly, fanciful marks are those that come from the creative imagination of the manufacturer or come from classical languages like Latin and Greek.
Lastly, generic marks are those which represent a very broad category of products like 'olive oil' and are afforded no safety under the trademark laws.
More Information:
Discover more about
Trademarks and learn how does an
Patents protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
Categories
