Can a generic name be trademarked [New Research]

Last updated : Aug 18, 2022

What names Cannot be trademarked?

• Proper names or likenesses without consent from the person.
• Generic terms, phrases, or the like.
• Government symbols or insignia.
• Vulgar or disparaging words or phrases.
• The likeness of a U.S. President, former or current.
• Immoral, deceptive, or scandalous words or symbols.
• Sounds or short motifs.

Can you copyright a generic word?

Generic terms can never receive trademark protection. They are words or symbols that communicate what type of product or service is being offered. “Email” and “modem” are generic terms. Similarly, “cereal” is a grass, the edible part of which is used for a breakfast food.

What is an example of a generic trademark?

Google, Taser, and Xerox are all examples of brand names that have become generic words for a type of product. The process is known as genericization, and in some cases, it can result in companies losing their trademark.

What happens if your trademark becomes generic?

Genericide – What happens once a trademark becomes generic? Unfortunately for the trademark owner, once a trademark becomes generic it loses its trademark protection and it becomes available to the public.

Can a single word be trademarked?

A trademark registration with the USPTO is a registered trademark and gets marked with the registered trademark (®) symbol. You don't have to register a word with the USPTO to get trademark status. A word is a trademark if that word identifies a brand, regardless of whether the word itself is registered.

What is not protected by trademark?

Generic terms are not protected by trademark because they refer to a general class of products rather than indicating a unique source.

What names can you trademark?

Unlike surnames, personal names (first names and first names used with last names) can act as trademarks without proof of secondary meaning because they are considered to be inherently distinctive.

How much does it cost to trademark a word?

The basic cost to trademark a business name ranges from $225 to $600 per trademark class. This is the cost to submit your trademark application to the USPTO. The easiest and least expensive way to register your trademark is online, through the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

How do you prove a trademark is generic?

A two-part test is used to determine if a term is generic: (1) what is the class of goods or services at issue and (2) does the relevant public understand the term or designation primarily to refer to that class of goods.

What is the difference between a trade name vs a trademark?

trademark. A trade name is the name of your business. A trade name can be registered under the Trademarks Act only if it is also used as a trademark; that is, if it is used to identify goods or services. For example, let us suppose that you own an ice cream business and that your company is called "A.B.C.

What's it called when a brand name becomes generic?

A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or services, usually against the intentions of the trademark's owner.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

Did Google lose its trademark?

Google retains its trademark though the name is used as a verb, appeals court says. A federal appeals court has ruled that Google has not lost trademark protection for its name even though some people use “google” in a generic sense as a verb for the act of searching the internet.

Can I trademark a phrase already used?

Trademarked phrases are only protected against the use of others in the same business class. The phrase must identify the commercial organization as the source of goods or services for the trademark. You cannot apply to trademark a phrase if the same phrase is already registered or has a pending application.

Can you legally own a word?

You cannot obtain a copyright registration for one word. Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. A copyright only exists for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. A copyright protects literary, musical, artistic, and dramatic works.

What happens if you use a trademarked word?

The law allows you to use a trademark without getting the owner's permission for: Informational use: You use it to editorialize or educate about a specific product or service. Comparison use: You use it as part of an accurate comparison between products or services.

Whats the difference between copyright and trademark?

Copyright protects original work, whereas a trademark protects items that distinguish or identify a particular business from another. Copyright is generated automatically upon the creation of original work, whereas a trademark is established through common use of a mark in the course of business.

What is not eligible for copyright?

Not Protected by Copyright: Titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.

How do I copyright a name for free?

You can not register a trademark for free. However, you can establish something known as a "common law trademark" for free, simply by opening for business. The benefit of relying on common law trademark rights is that it's free, and you don't need to do any specific work filling out forms, etc.

Is it worth trademarking a name?

Protect Sales: Registering your business name for a trademark protects your sales by preventing consumer confusion. For example, if another company uses the same or a similar name to yours and sells a similar product, customers might think they're buying from you instead of your competitors.

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hi this is Dan Smith of DPS legal counsel and welcome to today's episode of business is more exciting than any game today I want to talk about trademarks and in particular I want to talk about a case that's going to be coming up this year in the US Supreme Court involving the well-known travel website booking.com booking.com attempted to get a registered trademark for its name booking.com but was turned down by the United States Patent and Trademark Office it appealed that decision to the trademark trial and appeal board it was again turned down by the trademark trial and appeal board the reason that the USPTO and the trademark trial and appeal board turned down booking.com application for a registered trademark for its name booking.com is because it was determined by the USPTO the US Patent and Trademark Office that the name booking.com was generic and if you have a trademark application for a generic requested trademark it will be turned down the company booking.com argued that the name was descriptive and in particular the the issue kind of became whether the addition of the.com to the name bookings may have changed a what would be a generic name booking which is generic to the suit to the to the service of doing hotel bookings the name booking just means bookings for hotels and so that does appear to be generic and that sense but the question was whether the addition of dot-com to booking changed that generic miss booking to something that is descriptive and in which someone who is who sees or goes to a site called booking.com understands that the source of those services is that particular company booking.com in other words can you can you change what would otherwise be a generic trademark to a non-generic trademark and thereby be allowed to get a registered trademark if you just add the additional language for your website dot-com so if you had for example a website or if you had a company called and I'm just throwing out an example don't know if this is even a company or not but if you had if you had any if you had a company called tables and if you had a if you've got a registered if you got a domain for that on the internet for tables dot-com could you get a registered trademark for tables com where you might not be able to and shouldn't be able to get a trademark from tables because it's generic so the question is whether you can just convert a generic trademark to a non-generic descriptive trademark by adding the dot-com to the name the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear that case and that case will be heard this coming year it's going to be very interesting it's going to be important for companies to know whether they can get a trademark for something that would otherwise be a generic trademark by simply getting the top-level domain for that name that generic name dot-com and being able then to apply for the trademark as whatever it is generic dot-com so we'll see we'll follow that but it's important for businesses who are looking to brand to know what the parameters are for getting a trademark for their company so I hope that helps if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch and we'll talk to you next time Thanks

Thanks for your comment Chadwick Sultzer, have a nice day.
- Irmgard Cecere, Staff Member

can you use a generic term plus.com as a trademark well the supreme court's just ruled on that and i'm going to talk about it over the next four minutes i'm angela langlotz trademark and copyright attorney and i go live here on weekdays to talk trademarks and copyrights so don't forget to smash the like button and subscribe if you'd like more of these videos in your feed so last week i believe it was the supremes ruled that it is perfectly okay to use a generic term plus a.com as a trademark now why why do we not allow generic terms as trademarks well remember that a trademark is a source identifier that means that when i look at that brand i know which company those goods or those services are coming from and trademarks should be distinctive they should identify a source and if you have a generic word like booking for travel booking services that is a generic term so we can't use that because it would prevent other people from fairly describing their goods right so they couldn't say i have a booking site right because then the people who had the booking trademark would get all upset and say well you're infringing our trademark because we have a trademark on booking for booking travel services so you can see why that doesn't work but if you add a dot-com on the end and the consumer sees that dot com the whole term dot com like booking.com as a source identifier meaning they know exactly what company is providing or offering those services now you can use it as a trademark it used to be that you you couldn't do that there was a split in the circuits one circuit said yes the patent and trademark office said no so the supreme court said well we're gonna decide and they decided they said look if the consumers view that as a source identifier then it is now a trademark remember trademarks are very consumer focused we want to make sure that consumers are not confused right that consumers understand the relationship between the trademark and the company that's offering the goods and services and that the trademark serves to distinguish those goods and services from other goods and services available in the marketplace so the supreme court said listen this is a this this trademark is booking.com there can only be one booking.com because there's only one dot-com domain available booking.com it is one source right so they reasoned to they said booking.com did a survey and consumers identified booking.com as a source for travel bookings so therefore booking.com can serve as a trademark so that's the new news under certain circumstances and you may have to prove by a survey that consumers view your.com as an actual trademark as an actual source identifier you may have to prove that with a survey but it is possible now the word is official to use a generic term plus a.com for a trademark for your goods or services i'm angela langlotz i'm a trademark and copyright attorney and i go live here again share this video if you think people might find it useful smash the like button and subscribe and you will see me every weekday here talking about trademarks and copyrights you can also find me online at trademarkdoctor.net drop any trademark or copyright questions you might have into the comments and i will answer them on a future live video

Thanks lygivitniw your participation is very much appreciated
- Irmgard Cecere

About the author

Irmgard Cecere

I've studied compilers at Paine College in Augusta and I am an expert in theoretical computer science. I usually feel sleepy. My previous job was ceiling tile installer I held this position for 5 years, I love talking about cartophily (card collecting) and sports. Huge fan of George Eliot I practice rugby union and collect sports memorabilia.