Sage-Tips

Is Staples a fanciful trademark?

These are marks that have some suggestion of the type of product, but are not a direct description of it. Examples are Microsoft, Rite Aid, or Staples. An arbitrary mark.

Can you trademark a generic word?

Since everyone deserves the right to accurately identify the type of goods or services it sells, to allow a single company to claim trademark rights to a generic term would impoverish the language and unfairly hamper competition. …

Can you trademark the same word mark as another company in different industry?

If you are using a business name that is the same as another company in your industry, caution is warranted. If you are instead using a name that is the same as another company’s name that offers completely different services or products, there is probably not a trademark issue.

Can I use a product name that is trademarked?

The short answer is that you can use a trademark belonging to another person or company if you use the mark for: informational or editorial purposes to identify specific products and services, or. if your use is part of an accurate comparative product statement.

What is fanciful trademark?

Fanciful marks comprise terms that have been invented for the sole purpose of functioning as a trademark or service mark. Such marks comprise words that are either unknown in the language (e.g., PEPSI, KODAK, and EXXON) or are completely out of common usage (e.g., FLIVVER).

What does suggestive trademark mean?

A suggestive mark hints at or suggests the nature of a product or service or one of its attributes without actually describing the product or service. Examples of suggestive marks are AIRBUS for airplanes and NETFLIX for streaming services.

What makes a trademark generic?

A trademark can become “genericized” if the mark becomes identified with a type of product or service in the public’s mind, rather than a particular brand. Aspirin, yo-yos, and cellophane became generic through consumer misuse of the trademarks to refer to these products.

What happens when a brand name becomes generic?

Genericide is the term used when a brand legally loses its mark by reaching a point where the product name is no longer differentiated and is therefore synonymous with the generic product. Aspirin, escalator and flip phone lost their trademarks due to genericization.

Can you trademark a name that is already in use but not trademarked?

If you’re wondering, “can you trademark something that already exists,” the simple answer is “no.” Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can’t register the trademark for yourself.

Why are generic or descriptive names or words not given trademarks?

Generic “marks” are devices which actually name a product and are incapable of functioning as a trademark. Unlike descriptive marks, generic devices will not become a trademark even if they are advertised so heavily that secondary meaning can be proven in the mind of consumers.

Why are generic terms not protected by trademark law?

United States trademark law prevents trademark protection of generic terms because providing a generic term with trademark protection would be like granting a monopoly in the product. How is a generic mark different from a descriptive mark?

Why was the word Apple allowed to be trademarked?

All of those companies, and many others, own trademark rights to the single word “APPLE”. Why was this allowed? Because the word “apple” is an arbitrary word when used in connection with the manufacture and sale of computers and computer programs, or tobacco products, or educational materials.

What happens when a brand mark becomes generic?

Frederick Walton, the Linoleum inventor, never trademarked its mark when he first created it in 1864. Genericide was fast: by the late 1870s, the term was already in common use. A brand mark that becomes generic loses trademark protection, brand value, and profit. There are a few things a brand can do to avoid genericide:

Can a company register a descriptive mark as a trademark?

Companies can’t register descriptive marks as trademarks unless these have a secondary meaning. Generic marks are the weakest type of marks, and in fact, they can’t be registered as trademarks in any case. If you’re wondering how to understand if your mark is generic, there’s a two-part test you can take.