Key Takeaways

  • A list of trademarks includes different types of symbols, words, and other identifiers that businesses use to distinguish their goods or services.
  • Trademarks can include traditional marks (words, logos) and nontraditional ones (colors, shapes, scents, or sounds).
  • Trademarks play an important consumer protection role by indicating product source and maintaining quality expectations.
  • Certain limits apply—functional features, generic or descriptive terms, and immoral or deceptive marks may not qualify for protection.
  • Trademarks are governed primarily by federal law through the Lanham Act, but states may also regulate unregistered marks.
  • Various types of trademarks exist—word marks, design marks, color marks, sound marks, and even motion or hologram marks.
  • Online resources such as the USPTO database and international databases (e.g., WIPO Global Brand Database) can help you search existing trademarks before filing.

List of Trademarks

List of trademarks are the lists of symbols, phrases, or words used to distinguish a product and identify it from a manufacturer or seller.

What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is a combination of numerals, words, and letters, or it can include three-dimensional shapes, drawings, or symbols. Even non-visible things like fragrances, sounds, or color shades can be trademarked.

Types of Trademarks

Trademarks can be grouped into several distinct categories, each serving a unique purpose in identifying and protecting brand identity:

  1. Word Marks – These protect brand names, words, or combinations of letters and numbers (e.g., “Coca-Cola,” “Google”).
  2. Design Marks or Logos – Visual elements such as logos, stylized fonts, or graphic designs that help consumers recognize a brand.
  3. Color Marks – Specific colors associated with a brand, such as Tiffany & Co.’s blue box or UPS’s brown trucks.
  4. Sound Marks – Unique sounds that signal a brand, like the NBC chimes or Intel’s five-note jingle.
  5. Scent Marks – Distinct smells linked to products, like a floral fragrance for sewing thread.
  6. Motion or Multimedia Marks – Animated logos or sequences, such as the Pixar lamp sequence.
  7. Trade Dress – The overall look and feel of a product or its packaging, such as the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle or Apple store layouts.

Each type of mark provides different avenues for protection under trademark law, depending on how consumers perceive the brand’s identity.

Examples of Trademarks

One example of a trademark that distinguishes a product is the trademark of Nike. The swoosh on Nike shoes make it easy to tell them apart from shoes made by other companies. Another example is the trademark of Coca-Cola, which makes it easy to tell which soda includes the drink of that manufacturer.

Logos or marks which are used for services are called service marks, but are treated almost identically to trademarks.

Common Examples from the List of Trademarks

To understand how trademarks function, it’s helpful to look at well-known examples across different industries:

  • Nike® – Word and swoosh logo (design mark).
  • Apple® – Apple silhouette (design mark) and brand name (word mark).
  • McDonald’s® – Golden arches (design mark) and “I’m Lovin’ It” (slogan mark).
  • Tiffany & Co.® – Robin’s-egg blue color (color mark).
  • MGM® – Roaring lion (sound and motion mark).
  • Google® – Name and distinctive font (word and stylized design mark).
  • 3M® – Simple letter-number combination (word mark).
  • LEGO® – Red and white block logo (design mark).

These examples show that a list of trademarks can include not just words but also other brand identifiers that evoke recognition and trust among consumers.

Limits on Trademarks of Identifying Features

Identifying features, for example, a color or the shape of a product’s container, may be trademarked.

The trade dress may be protected if consumers identify that feature with a specific manufacturer’s product rather than with that product generally. If, however, these features give a manufacturer a competitive advantage, then the identifying feature may not be protected. One example would be if a particular design for a box has a functional advantage (easier to stack or safer to use), then the unique shape cannot be protected.

Trademark Functionality and Distinctiveness

Trademark protection requires that a mark be distinctive—it must identify a specific source rather than merely describe the product.Marks fall into different categories of distinctiveness:

  • Fanciful marks – Completely invented words (e.g., “Xerox,” “Kodak”).
  • Arbitrary marks – Common words used in an unrelated context (e.g., “Apple” for computers).
  • Suggestive marks – Imply qualities of the goods (e.g., “Netflix”).
  • Descriptive marks – Describe a product’s qualities (e.g., “Cold and Creamy” for ice cream) and require secondary meaning to be protected.
  • Generic terms – Cannot be trademarked (e.g., “Computer” for computers).

The functionality doctrine also prevents a business from monopolizing features that are essential to a product’s use or cost efficiency.

How Trademarks Help Consumers

Consumers use the trademarked information to identify the source of the product, and therefore their experienced notion of quality or value of a particular product. Distinguishing between brands, though trademarks, makes it easier for consumers to find the products they desire. In addition, it saves the sellers of these products from having to explain the manufacturer of a product. Consumers can identify the producer for themselves.

Trademarks ensure that companies invest in quality and safety of their goods. When a consumer has found a brand that they like, they will return to that brand in the future. On the flip side, if a consumer finds a particular product or manufacturer lacking in quality, then they can avoid it in the future. Regulating the use of trademarks and trademark law furthers the goal of quality competition.  

Some Limits on Trademarks

Trademarks can be almost any device, symbol, name or word capable of classifying the source of goods. Of course, there are a few limitations. The functionality doctrine may be applied and a mark’s registration may be denied. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refuses to register unremarkable marks which have not achieved a secondary meaning.

Scandalous and immoral marks may also be rejected along with marks that are geographic in nature, common surnames, and marks that may be reasonably confused with other trademarks that already exist.

Intellectual Property Rights Extend to Trademarks

One definition of trademark is the law protecting the use of a device by a seller or manufacturer to identify its products and to pinpoint its goods in a field of other sellers or manufacturers.

Marks which are used for services are generally referred to as service marks, but are treated identically to trademarks. The federal government and state governments both govern trademarks.

The main protection for trademarks originally came from common law at the state level. Historic changes were made in the 1800s when Congress passed the first trademark laws at the federal level.

The expansion of federal trademark law has taken over much of the original state common law.

The Lanham Act was enacted in 1946 and amended in 1996.

Trademark Protection and Enforcement

Once registered, a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to use the mark in commerce for specific goods or services. Owners can enforce these rights through infringement lawsuits if others use confusingly similar marks.Trademark owners can also record their marks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to block counterfeit goods from entering the country.Federal registration provides several benefits, including:

  • Presumption of nationwide ownership and validity.
  • Ability to use the ® symbol.
  • Right to bring legal action in federal court.
  • Easier international registration through treaties like the Madrid Protocol.

Trademarks can last indefinitely if renewed every ten years and used continuously in commerce.

Federal Law Governs Generally

The main laws are federal with some state laws still available. Marks that are registered federally have a nation-wide scope and so they are protected in the entire U.S. and its territories. The protections are provided at the state and federal level. 

The small circle with an R at its center is the symbol that the mark is registered with the U.S. federal government. If a trademark is unregistered, then a “tm” should appear on the mark. If a service mark is unregistered, then a “sm” should appear on the mark.

How to Search and Register Trademarks

Before registering a trademark, you should perform a trademark search to ensure your mark isn’t already in use.Key databases include:

  • USPTO Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) – The main U.S. federal database for registered and pending trademarks.
  • WIPO Global Brand Database – Provides access to international trademark registrations under the Madrid System.
  • European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Database – For marks registered in the EU.
  • State Trademark Databases – Many states maintain their own searchable trademark registries.

Conducting a thorough search can help avoid infringement disputes and improve your chance of successful registration. Registration through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants nationwide protection under the Lanham Act.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What are the main types of trademarks?
    Word marks, design marks, color marks, sound marks, scent marks, and trade dress are the main types recognized under U.S. law.
  2. What’s the difference between a trademark and a service mark?
    A trademark identifies goods, while a service mark identifies services, but both are protected similarly under the Lanham Act.
  3. Can I trademark a color or sound?
    Yes, if it distinguishes your product and isn’t functional—like Tiffany Blue or the NBC chimes.
  4. How long does a trademark last?
    Trademarks can last forever if you continue using them and file renewal documents every ten years.
  5. Where can I search for existing trademarks?
    Use the USPTO’s TESS database for U.S. marks, WIPO’s Global Brand Database for international marks, or your state’s database for local searches.

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