Trademark Lawyers: Types of Trademarks
According to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the number of active trademark registrations has increased by approximately 80,000 between 2009 and 2010. With more and more business identities seeking protection for their intellectual property rights, trademark attorneys are very involved. . Not only can competent trademark attorneys help you through the registration process, they can also provide you with a proper pre-registration guide. For example, if you are still contemplating trademark nomenclature, trademark attorneys could provide valuable input for it.
Understanding Trademarks with Trademark Attorneys
Your trademark attorneys would be the right people to explain the various categories of commonly used and preferred trademarks for smooth registration. For some basic definitions, the types of trademarks are shown below:
Descriptive marks: They are those that describe the products or services offered. For example, something like “honey coated flakes” would be a descriptive trademark. Typically, trademark attorneys would be able to advise you against trademarks, because a descriptive mark could have similarities to several others related to the same product category. However, entrepreneurs are sometimes prepared to face difficulties because of the advertising advantages associated with such descriptive connotations.
Suggestive marks: Suggestive brands are those that make indirect reference to products and services. For example, something like “Quick Bites” could be used for a snack, “Jaguar” for a car brand, “Leg Ins” for a clothing manufacturing company, and so on. These are more preferred options regarding uniqueness compared to descriptive marks.
Arbitrary marks: Arbitrary trademarks could be highly preferred for protection purposes. These are commonly used English words that can be used for unrelated products. For example, “Apple” for computers is what an arbitrary trademark is. However, the concept would change with respect to the products they represent. For example, the brand “apple”, when used for a fruit exporter, would become a descriptive brand.
Dark and fanciful: These trademarks would provide the maximum possible protection, as they are basically single words that have no meaning. They are created by entrepreneurs and the brand becomes their identity. Classic examples of great trademarks would be “Xerox” and “Oreo.” While the first has nothing to do with photocopies, the second has nothing to do with the cookies of which it is a registered trademark. However, they have become generic terms that replace actual products in the process.
Once you have your trademark type in place, you can go ahead and register it according to the required process with the help of trademark attorneys.