Key Takeaways

  • The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish goods and services, protect business identity, and build consumer trust.
  • Trademarks differ from trade names and copyrights, as they specifically protect brand identifiers in commerce.
  • A trademark provides legal protection, reduces unfair competition, and safeguards the investment a business makes in its brand.
  • Strong trademarks can deter counterfeiting, enhance licensing opportunities, and help expand into new markets.
  • Registration at the federal level provides nationwide rights, enforceability, and long-term brand security.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a symbol, slogan, design, word, or combination of elements that identifies a party's goods or services. The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish these goods or services from someone else's. A trademark can be almost anything in terms of design as long as it makes it easy for the consumer to identify it with a particular service or product.

Examples of popular trademarks include the NBC three-toned chime "G E C," the Nike "swoosh," the McDonald's "golden arches," and the shape of the Coca-Cola bottle. A trademark can even be a color, such as T-Mobile's vibrant pink.

Examples of What Can Be Trademarked

While many think of a trademark as just a logo or slogan, it can actually extend to a wide range of brand identifiers. The USPTO recognizes words, phrases, symbols, designs, or a combination of these as eligible for trademark protection. Beyond the traditional logo, businesses have successfully trademarked:

  • Colors (e.g., Tiffany Blue, UPS Brown).
  • Sounds (e.g., the NBC chimes).
  • Shapes and packaging (e.g., the Coca-Cola bottle).
  • Motions or gestures (e.g., certain sports celebrations).
  • Scents in rare cases (e.g., a floral fragrance for sewing thread).

This broad scope shows that trademarks aren’t limited to visuals—they cover any distinctive element that signals brand origin to consumers.

How Are Trademarks Different From Trade Names or Copyrights?

A trademark identifies a commercial service or product. Trade names, also known as business names, identify the business for non-marketing purposes. And copyrights are used to protect original works of expression.

Trade names also include non-marketing uses on bank accounts, stock certificates, contracts, letterhead, and other documents in order to identify the entity. However, trade names can also be trademarks when they're used to identify specific services or goods.

While copyrights protect creative designs, they don't typically protect individual words or slogans. A copyright also doesn't exclude others from creating the same type of design. As such, a logo design may need to be protected by both trademark law and copyright law.

A copyright owner is the creator or employer of an idea and maintains rights for a term of 50, 75, or 100 years depending on the copyright. No distribution is required. Trademark owners' rights are indefinite as long as they protect and use their trademarks properly. Trademark owners must also use their marks continuously in commercial endeavors to retain ownership.

Trademark vs. Service Mark

A trademark identifies goods, while a service mark identifies services. In practice, both fall under “trademark law,” but the distinction matters when registering or enforcing rights. For example:

  • A coffee brand name on packaged beans is a trademark.
  • The same name used for running a café is a service mark.

Understanding this distinction helps businesses select the right type of protection when filing applications.

What is the Purpose of a Trademark?

The main purpose of a trademark is to prevent unfair competition between companies that use consumer confusion to get more business. For example, if an independent diner used a golden, arched "M" as its logo, it could confuse customers who think the establishment is a McDonald's. Causing this type of confusion is against trademark law.

The purpose of trademark law is twofold:

  • A trademark helps customers distinguish between products
  • A trademark protects the owner's investment and reputation

In the 1995 case of Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., the Supreme Court described trademark law as "preventing others from copying a source-identifying mark" and assisting the customer in making purchasing decisions. The law also helps make sure the producer will get all the reputation-related and financial rewards associated with its product.

It's important to remember that having a registered trademark doesn't give you blanket rights to that particular name. For example, "Delta" is both a sink manufacturer and airline, among a few other businesses, and yet nobody confuses them. There is enough distinction between the products and services that no customer would confuse Delta sinks with Delta flights.

If the USPTO doesn't believe a customer can confuse your trademark with someone else's, your registration will be allowed to mature. However, the USPTO has a 30-day period in which it posts a "Notice of Publication," allowing anyone to challenge the trademark application. 

Certain applicants are required to file what's called a "specimen of use," which is an example of your trademark being used in the real world. If your application fails to include all requirements, including a specimen of use when requested, it will be returned along with a filing fee refund.

How Trademarks Support Business Growth

The purpose of trademark protection extends beyond avoiding consumer confusion. A strong trademark strategy also supports business expansion and growth:

  • Brand loyalty and trust: Customers are more likely to repurchase from a recognizable brand.
  • Marketing efficiency: A clear, protected brand identity increases the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
  • Asset creation: Trademarks are intangible assets that can be bought, sold, licensed, or used as collateral in financing.
  • Market entry: Registered marks facilitate entry into foreign markets, where protections can be extended through treaties like the Madrid Protocol.

These advantages show that a trademark is not just a defensive tool but also a proactive way to enhance business value.

Why is a Trademark Important?

As well as serving as a roadmap for customers, a trademark prevents theft. If you've created a trademark, you enjoy certain legal protections and preventive measures. These preventive measures include:

  • Trademark registration at the federal and state level. You don't need to register a trademark to keep others from using it or from creating a similarly confusing mark. Still, registration gives you multiple legal advantages you wouldn't otherwise have when pursuing those who have used your mark. The biggest advantage is being able to give a constructive notice to the public, preventing anyone from claiming they were unaware of the trademark's existence. You can also register a trademark federally if you want to use it for interstate commerce.
  • Use of notices. Using the TM or SM symbol is another way of giving enough notice to the public, further cementing your legal protections.
  • Pursuing infringers. Unless you take action against a thief, your trademark could be lost. Registering your trademark is more likely to dissuade someone from using your mark without your permission, although this isn't always the case.
  • Controlled licensing. Trademark law allows you to license your trademark as long as the owner requesting the license controls the quality of services and goods bearing the trademark. Maintaining the quality of services and goods is important for maintaining customer confidence in the brand and for building the trademark's reputation.

Consequences of Not Having a Trademark

Failing to secure a trademark exposes businesses to serious risks:

  • Legal disputes: Without protection, competitors may adopt similar marks, forcing costly litigation.
  • Loss of exclusivity: Businesses may lose the ability to expand under their chosen name if another party registers it first.
  • Brand erosion: Counterfeit or copycat products can damage reputation and reduce consumer trust.
  • Rebranding costs: If forced to change a name or logo, companies face expenses in marketing, packaging, and customer re-education.

These consequences highlight why registering and enforcing a trademark early is a critical step for brand protection.

What is Protected By a Trademark?

Trademarks protect customers from being misled. Say you're in the market to buy a COACH designer handbag. Without trademark protections, the market would be flooded with knockoff COACH bags sold in every corner store. You could end up buying a fake bag even with the full intention of buying a real one.

There's also the issue of customer confidence. You know a COACH designer handbag is expertly made with a commitment to quality. You can feel confident it will last. A knockoff version, however, won't meet those same standards of quality. In this way, a trademark cultivates customer loyalty and relationships between people and their favorite brands.

Trademark registration also gives you a claim of ownership over your mark's use. You can use the registration as proof in court of the trademark's validity if a dispute arises. While you will still need to consult an attorney if this should happen, your registration is your proof of ownership. No one else can take that from you.

Trademark protections are not a one-size-fits-all. In fact, trademark protections range on a four-point scale, which is why it's important to consider how you name your business. Consider the following types of trademark protections:

  • Generic – common descriptions cannot receive any protection under trademark law because they're in wide use
  • Descriptive – trademarks consisting of adjectives cannot be reinforced unless there is another meaning associated with the mark
  • Suggestive – suggestive terms receive trademark protection even without a secondary meaning as long as the term implies something without describing it
  • Fanciful or arbitrary – these terms are distinctive and enjoy the highest degree of trademark protection; arbitrary words are meaningless without respect to the product while fanciful words are made up

Reasons to Consider a Trademark

When you own a business, you work hard to build up your reputation with customers. That reputation deserves protection.

To receive trademark protection, you don't need to register. Still, registering your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has clear advantages, including:

  • Exclusive nationwide ownership of the trademark
  • The right to use the ® symbol to show your trademark's registered status
  • The USPTO's refusal to register any close variations of the trademark, which could result in competition
  • The right to have your trademark become indisputable after five years of continuous use
  • The act of putting other users on notice with public registration

Even if you're not ready to use your trademark, you can still register it. Simply file an "intent-to-use" application. This lets the USPTO know you have chosen a mark and want to protect it, but you still aren't ready to put it to use. An intent-to-use application will give you temporary trademark ownership benefits for six months.

If you haven't decided on your trademark yet, there are essentially two steps to consider. First, you want to find a trademark you can use publicly that identifies your goods or services while still being distinctive to set you apart from the rest. The good thing about distinctive marks is that they are given automatic protection without registration, so try to be as distinctive as possible.

You will also need to conduct your own trademark search to make sure the trademark isn't already in use by anyone else. If you find a similar trademark, you'll need to change your own until it's distinctive enough.

International Trademark Protection

If your business has global ambitions, protecting your brand internationally is essential. Trademark rights are territorial, meaning protection in the U.S. does not extend abroad. Options for securing international rights include:

  • Madrid Protocol: A streamlined system allowing one application to cover multiple countries.
  • Direct filing: Applying separately in countries where you plan to operate.
  • First-to-file jurisdictions: Some countries grant rights to whoever files first, not the first to use.

International registration ensures your brand remains secure as you expand into franchising, licensing, or global e-commerce

Steps to File

  1. To register your trademark, go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website.
  2. Make sure the trademark isn't already registered in the Trademark Electronic Search System database.
  3. Apply online and pay the trademark registration fee, which costs between $275 and $325.
  4. Get a response within six months of filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the main purpose of a trademark?
    The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish goods or services, prevent consumer confusion, and protect the reputation and investment of a brand.
  2. Can a color or sound be trademarked?
    Yes. Distinctive colors, sounds, shapes, and even scents can be trademarked if they identify the source of a product or service.
  3. What happens if I don’t trademark my business name?
    Without a trademark, competitors may use similar names, leaving you vulnerable to disputes, counterfeiting, or even forced rebranding.
  4. Is a service mark different from a trademark?
    Yes. A service mark protects services, while a trademark protects goods. Both are governed by the same laws.
  5. Do trademarks protect me internationally?
    No. U.S. trademarks only apply domestically. For global protection, businesses must apply internationally through systems like the Madrid Protocol.

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