Brown & Michaels

Your Trademark: Do's and Don'ts

Remember that your Trademark is an indication of the source of goods or services

It is not the name or description of a specific thing, as such, nor is it necessarily the same as your company name.

Be sure to use your mark correctly!

It is very important that a mark be used correctly, so that the mark's character is preserved. This is sometimes stated as "a trademark is an adjective, not a noun or verb."

That is, to use several famous examples:

Always use the generic description of the goods in combination with the mark: One can make copies on a "Xerox® photocopier", one does not "make a xerox".
Never use the mark as a verb: You can "copy" something on a Xerox® copier, you cannot "xerox" it.
Capitalize the mark, as appropriate: Xerox, Craftsman, Kodak
Use the word "brand" if necessary to clarify the status of your mark: One uses "Kleenex® Brand Facial Tissues", not "a kleenex", and seals packages with "Scotch® brand adhesive tape" not "scotch tape".
Never let your mark become "generic": You cannot stop your competitors from talking about their products by pre-empting the name of the product. Thus, if a mark is not used correctly, there is a risk of it being declared "generic". A generic mark is not really a trademark, but the only way to refer to a product. Some examples of marks which have become generic over the years are "yo-yo" (for "return tops"), "aspirin" (for "acetylsalicylic acid"), "escalator" (for "moving stairs"), "thermos" (for "vacuum flasks"), "brassiere" for "ladies' support garment" and many others.

Be sure to give the proper notice that you intend to reserve rights to a trademark.

This is done by putting a trademark symbol (the r-in-a-circle symbol ® for federally registered trademarks, ^TM or ^SM for unregistered marks) next to the mark when it is used. It isn't really necessary to clutter up every piece of text with the symbol every single time the mark is used - you just need to give "adequate notice" that you consider the word, phrase, etc., to be your mark. Certainly the symbol should be used the first time a mark is used in a document or label, and occasionally thereafter.

Some manufacturers put a note on each label or document listing all of the marks on the label or document, and noting the trademark ownership ("Scotch® and Magic Tape® are Registered Trademarks of 3M Corporation").

By the way, the Owl logo on these web pages, and the phrase "our knowledge protects yours" are registered service marks of Brown & Michaels, PC.

If you use someone else's trademark be sure to acknowledge their rights, too.

That is, if you talk about "Teflon®", be sure there's a disclaimer somewhere that "Teflon is a registered trademark of DuPont."

The "BIC man" character at right is a registered trademark of Bic Corporation.

Before you begin to use a mark, choose it carefully and be sure you're not infringing on someone else's mark.

A trademark search is a basic first step for anyone considering adopting a new trademark or service mark. With today's computerized databases, a trademark search is relatively inexpensive and fast, and cheap insurance against having to change your mark or defend a lawsuit later. We recommend that you start by doing a preliminary search yourself. Then, when you've settled on a mark you think is OK, confirm it by having a professional search done.

See our Trademark Budget Estimator for our fees for trademark searching. If you have a trademark search done by a service, be sure it includes Federal and State Registered Marks, at a minimum, and an opinion on the results.

You should not stop with registered marks, either - check out the World-Wide Web search engines and yellow-pages listing to find anyone using the mark who has not (yet) registered. You wouldn't want to spend a fortune adopting and promoting a mark nationwide, only to find out that a competitor has prior use rights.

The test of a mark is "likelihood of confusion" - that is, is the proposed mark so close to an existing mark that it is likely to confuse the intended consumer as to the source of the goods? If there is any question, play it safe and try another mark (or consider contacting the prior user and getting his OK, if you really want to use a mark which might be a problem).

Choose the "strongest" mark possible.

Marks vary in strength over a spectrum from a coined or invented mark, which can be very strong, through generic marks, which are not really trademarks at all. The stronger a mark is, the broader the protection it is afforded.

Coined or Fanciful Marks are those which have no meaning, outside of the mark itself. "Kodak" or "Xerox" are good examples. Neither had any meaning in any language before they were invented to describe new products.
Arbitrary marks use ordinary words, but the words are not associated with the product. For example, "Shell" for petroleum products, "Wishbone" for salad dressing, "Amazon" for a bookseller, "Apple" for computers.
Suggestive marks are less broadly protected, since the words in the mark are associated with the product. They become stronger through use, as the mark acquires distinctiveness. "Rent-a-Wreck" for auto renting services is suggestive.
Descriptive marks convey an immediate idea of ingredients, qualities or characteristics of the goods or services. "Very Best" might be a descriptive mark. "Chapstick" is descriptive, as it immediately suggests a stick for chapping. If the mark functions to identify the source of the goods, either when adopted or through use, it may be registrable, but is afforded less protection than coined, arbitrary, or suggestive marks. The division between suggestive and descriptive marks is not always easy to spot.
Generic marks, as noted above, are not registrable and convey no rights at all.

It's been our experience that most people choose marks which are very weak and, in general, forgettable. Marketing departments dearly love generic marks, and can't understand why we would advise against "Raspberry Beer" as a mark for beer made with raspberries (yuck!). "Michael Shea's Irish Amber" (an actual trademark of the Genessee Brewing Co.) is much more distinctive and memorable than "Pretty Good Beer" would be.

There are lots of sources for good marks - look in an encyclopedia or dictionary, or to mythology or geography or history, for words whose connotations are positive and appropriate to your product. "Midas" implies wealth (for mufflers? Must be a connection somewhere), "Hercules" for strength (registered for rope since 1870, among 198 other things), "Mercury" for speed (FTD florist symbol or boat motors), the Rock of Gibraltar for permanence (used by Prudential Insurance), "George Washington" for honesty (broth, apples, many others), "Obsession" for emotional appeal (a perfume brand), and so on.

Coined marks can be very strong and valuable, and you can make them sound as if they mean something when they do not. Consider "Häagen-Dazs" ice cream (an all-American product made in New Jersey, but sounds ever so Scandinavian), or the Oldsmobile "Achieva" or Compaq "Presario" (sounds elegantly European, but are meaningless), or "Exxon" gasoline (a purely coined mark slightly reminiscent of their former "Esso" mark, and without the "S.O." [Standard Oil] derivation).

If you are planning for a line of products, consider choosing a mark which lends itself to becoming a "family" of marks. For example, Kodak has a wide variety of marks beginning with "Kod", as in "Kodell" for fabrics, "Kodalux" for processing, "Kodachrome" for film, and so on.

Avoid these Marks!

Some marks, otherwise valid, are either prohibited by law or convey no rights. These marks should be avoided:

Geographic origin or primarily a surname: For example, "Ithaca" for maps of the City of Ithaca, or for T-shirts with the name "Ithaca" on them made and sold in Ithaca, New York. On the other hand, there are "Ithaca® shotguns" (which are no longer made in Ithaca, New York, by the way), which is a perfectly acceptable (and quite famous) trademark. The test is whether or not the purchaser is buying the product because of the geographic connotation (California Wine or those t-shirts as souvenirs of a visit to beautiful Ithaca, New York) or because the mark is associated with the product (Ithaca shotguns). Beware of using a geographic location in a misleading way - "California's Best Wine" for wine made in New Jersey, for example.
Scandalous or disparaging marks: obscenities, racial or ethnic epithets, etc.
Insignia of a government agency, or of certain organizations protected by law. For example, the insignia or name of the FBI, the Boy Scouts (BSA) or Girl Scouts (GSUSA), DAR, VFW, Little League, Olympics, etc., are all protected by various federal laws. The use of the American flag may require a license from the Secretary of Defense.
Identifies a living individual or deceased president during the life of his widow without consent. Note that many states have "rights of publicity" and privacy laws which would also affect the choice of an individual's name, even if deceased. If you file to register a mark which appears to be someone's name, you may be required to state that no such person exists (for example, there never was a "Betty Crocker"), that the person is long dead (i.e. "Ethan Allen" for furniture) or to supply a written permission from the person named (Roy Rogers, no doubt, had to give permission for use of his name in connection with fast food).
"Famous" marks. Normally, marks are protected in the area of commerce in which they have been used. Thus, it is possible for there to be 200 registrations for "Hercules" used on a wide variety of goods from soap and rope to computer graphics. Some marks are so inherently famous, however, that any use of the mark or anything like it is a problem, even if the famous owner has not and never will enter your field. You can expect to receive a nasty letter from Rochester if you announce your new "Kodak Dog Food", and forget that "Xerox House Paint".
"Clever" Misspellings of Otherwise Unusable Marks. No, you can't use "Koke", "Polaroyd", "Z-Rocks" or "Codac". They are too close to the famous marks. A descriptive mark like "speedy" for a fast car is not registrable if you write it "spee-d". Similarly, if "Broccoli" is generic for broccoli, then so is "Brokoli".
Marks using elements which are protected under other laws. For example, don't even think of using Mickey Mouse as your logo, even if he (and his ears, alone, for that matter) weren't a registered trademark of the Disney company. Drawings of Mickey and friends are protected under copyright.

Mouse ears are a registered trademark of Walt Disney Company

Watch out for pitfalls...

Foreign Words should be evaluated in terms of their English meanings. The popular "Pschitt soda" from France (a Perrier brand), or "Bimbo" doughnuts from Mexico are unlikely to make it big under those names in English-speaking countries. "Barberskum" is a Scandinavian word for shaving cream which probably would not be good choice in the US, and the Japanese "Asse" candy or "B-M" coffee are not a good bet for import, either.
English words should be checked as to their meaning in foreign languages, if international marketing is contemplated. Some Coca Cola bottlers found out that the Chinese characters they chose to represent the sounds "Coca Cola" meant "bite the wax tadpole" - not a connotation they would have chosen. Eventually they changed to characters which sounded the same, but meant "happiness in the mouth." Clairol's "Mist Stick" fell flat in Germany - where "mist" is slang for "manure".

You might have heard the story about the Chevy Nova, too. According to the story, General Motors discovered too late that "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish, so they couldn't sell cars until they changed the name. Unfortunately, it isn't true - see the Snopes Urban Legends page. GM knew what "no va" meant, but assumed (correctly) that any Spanish speaker would recognize the difference between the ungrammatical "no va" and the brand "Nova". As a matter of fact, Nova sold quite well in Latin America, and the name never was changed. Makes a good story, though, doesn't it?
Consider Regional Variations in English, too: Even other English-speaking countries might have problems with marks which are innocuous in American English - while you can easily sell a "fanny pack" in American stores to American boys, British boys would find the suggestion laughable (they don't have "fannies", only girls do, and in front, not behind...). Most English speakers (other than Americans) would pronounce the letter "Z" as zed, while Americans use zee, so any mark depending on either pronunciation would fall flat in the other region (the many American "E-Z" product names just don't have the same connotation when pronounced "ee-zed"). In reverse, we've been approached by a number of foreign clients over the years who wanted to register English words which were innocuous in their countries, but had unsavory or offensive connotations here.

Registration

Marks which are in use in interstate or foreign commerce (i.e. are sold over state lines, or between the U.S. and foreign countries) may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Such registration conveys a number of advantages, not the least of them being actual nationwide notice to possible infringers. Registration allows the trademark owner to use the (r) symbol, to sue in federal courts, to recover damages, profits and costs from an infringer, and conveys a presumption of validity to the ownership and right to use the mark. After 5 years of registered use, the mark may, upon application, be declared incontestable. Federal registration also allows you to file for registration in other countries.

You may apply for a trademark registration either before or after you use the mark, but a registration will not be issued until the mark is actually used. The registration is effective for 10 years, but may be renewed over and over for so long as the mark continues to be used. See our "Questions and Answers on Trademarks" for more information on registration.

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