What Is a Trademark and What Are the Many Kinds?

Discover what a trademark is. The definition is straightforward: Any word, symbol, or design that distinguishes products or services as originating from a certain source.

What you’ll discover:

Random and Imaginative Trademarks
Suggestions for Trademarks
Trademarks that are descriptive

At its most fundamental, the trademark definition is straightforward: Any word, symbol, or design that is used to distinguish one supplier of products or services from another. Trademarks are classified into two types: unregistered and registered. Both are legally protected, while federally registered trademarks have significantly greater protection. Can trademarks, however, be classified under distinct subtypes?

Random and Imaginative Trademarks

The most powerful trademarks are those that are unrelated to the items on which they are used. Although arbitrary markings fall below fantastical ones on the uniqueness scale, the distinction is mostly aesthetic. Fanciful trademarks, such as Kodak, are frequently phrases developed especially for the aim of establishing a trademark. Arbitrary marks are existing words or designs that are used out of context to symbolize a certain brand, service, or object, such as Apple (computers and software) or Shell (oil industry). The former are normally considered stronger than the latter, yet they are still similar.

Suggestions for Trademarks

A step below random and whimsical, suggestive trademarks are intended to pique the consumer’s imagination and ascribe a certain quality to the product. For example, Jaguar and Greyhound are both automotive names that are intended to imbue the product with animal qualities. Suggestive marks are less recognizable, although they may still be registered, but with less trademark enforcement. Since almost any two phrases may be combined, this category provides several instances to answer the question “What is a trademark?”

Trademarks that are descriptive

Descriptive trademarks dangle at the bottom of the trademark food chain. They are deemed unsuitable for trademarking since they explicitly describe the products and services. The rationale is straightforward. A Candy Coated Apples trademark might be used against rivals selling candy coated apples, reducing competition significantly. An exception may be made if the trademark is no longer linked with a specific product and has instead become identified with the firm that manufactures the product. As a result, it becomes a suggestive or arbitrary trademark.