Tips on Selecting a Trademark for your Business

Choosing a trademark for you company is not easy. You want to pick something that will describe your goods or services that is memorable, but as a general rule, terms that are merely descriptive are often difficult to protect with a trademark. In contrast, the more descriptive your mark is of the goods and services, the more likely your competitors are to try to use it. Interestingly, some of the strongest trademarks have no meaning or relation to the goods or services for which they are used.

In categorizing the strength of marks, the following factors should be considered:

Fanciful marks that are distinctive and will catch the public’s attention

Made-up words that mean nothing other than as a brand name (for example, XEROX copiers)

Marks that have a common meaning, but not in relation to the goods or services (for example, APPLE computers)

Marks that suggest some positive attribute of the goods or services, but that don’t necesssarily describe them (for example, VOLKSWAGEN for cars)

Marks that are descriptive and the public recognizes them as trademarks due to extensive use and marketing efforts (for example, “Blue Ribbon” beer)

It is important to understand that deceptive or misleading terms cannot be registered as a mark. Before you commit to a certain mark, it is important to have a seasoned attorney conduct a search to determine if somebody else has rights to the same (or similar) mark. It can save you a lot of time and money to know about a potentially conflicting mark before you invest heavily in it. Additionally, it is typically not a valid defense in a trademark infringement lawsuit to claim you were unaware of the conflict.

The type of goods and services the mark will be used for and the countries where it will be used typically dictate the extent of the search needed. Basic trademark searches investigate the trademark registration databases. A more thorough search can include other sources which include company names, trade publications and the Internet.

If you are interested in learning more about selecting a trademark, contact the legal team at The Swenson Law Firm for assistance.

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