What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination thereof, used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from those of another and to indicate the source of the goods.  A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks that are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks can be found at basic facts about Trademarks.

Practically, trademarks are generally words, phrases, logos and symbols used by producers to identify their goods.  However, shapes, sounds, fragrances and colors may also be registered as trademarks. Almost any word, name, symbol, or device capable of distinguishing the source of goods may be used as a trademark subject to few limitations.  A mark may be ineligible for federal trademark protection in the US if: (1) it would allow a company to control a useful product feature (i.e., if it is essential to the use or purpose of the article or if it affects the cost or quality of the article); or (2) if it falls within any of the categories listed under 15 U.S.C. § 1052.

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