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Written by : Samara Arcizo |
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hi i'm experienced u.s trademark attorney morris turek people ask me all the time if it's possible to trademark a product name the answer is sometimes some categories of product names are eligible for federal trademark registration with the united states patent and trademark office while others are not in general the more unique and creative your product name is the easier it will be to register it as a trademark and the greater scope of protection it will receive let's first talk about generic product names if you're looking to trademark a product name choosing a generic product name would be disastrous under the law such a name receives no protection whatsoever and is ineligible for federal trademark registration under any circumstances for example if you intend to sell t-shirts under the name shirts spelled s-h-i-r-t-z you would be unable to protect that name because it's merely the phonetic equivalent of the english language word shirts which is the generic term for your products the downside to choosing a generic name for your product is that you cannot stop your competitors from using the exact same name for their products but the good news if you can call it that is that you never have to worry about being sued for trademark infringement and you don't have to spend any money conducting a federal trademark search or obtaining a us trademark registration now let's talk about descriptive product names a descriptive product name immediately describes a feature quality or characteristic of the product a good example would be the name rapid glue for a glue that dries quickly the problem with descriptive product names is that they receive a very narrow scope of protection and are initially not entitled to federal registration on the principal register although they may be allowed on the supplemental register generally speaking a descriptive product name must be in commercial use for at least five years and have acquired distinctiveness or secondary meaning before it's eligible for registration on the principal register so while descriptive product names tend to be popular because they tell consumers something desirable about the product they aren't a particularly good choice if you want a trademark registration or want to exclude others from using a somewhat similar name for the similar type of product now let's discuss something about suggested product names a suggested product name suggests something about the product for instance the name lava for a chili sauce would be considered a suggestive product name why because lava suggests that the chili sauce is burning hot another example would be sniffles for t for tissues most product names you'll come across in your daily life fall into this category unlike descriptive product names suggestive names are eligible for federal trademark registration right off the bat and receive a relatively broad spectrum of protection suggested product names are definitely a solid choice from a trademark standpoint now let's talk about arbitrary product names if you want to trademark a product name choosing an arbitrary product name would be a good idea an arbitrary product name is one that consists of a regular english language word applied in an unfamiliar manner for example if you wanted to use the word stapler for a tennis racket that would be an arbitrary use of the word stapler because tennis rackets don't perform the ordinary functions of a stapler arbitrary product names enjoy a broad scope of protection and are able to be federally registered with the uspto finally let's discuss fanciful product names a fanciful product name is one that's completely made up and has no meaning in the english language so the name yagzet for a brand of laundry detergent or really any product would be fanciful product name because it means absolutely nothing fanciful product names are eligible for federal registration and receive the greatest amount of protection under the law again i'm experienced u.s trademark attorney morris turek if you have any questions about whether you can trademark your particular product name please don't hesitate to contact me right away for your free consultation i look forward to hearing from you soon you
Thanks for your comment Mammie Whitted, have a nice day.
- Samara Arcizo, Staff Member
trademark theft cost small businesses over 300 billion dollars a year I know so let me show you how to register your trademark step number one create unique words or a symbol as your trademark what can be trademarked any name symbol slogan design that is uniquely identified with your product or service people often use the word trademark to refer to both trademarks and service marks technically a trademark is for your goods whereas a service mark is for your commercial services why should you trademark two reasons it keeps customers who had good experiences with your product or service coming back for more it also helps them find your product by finding that logo or that name or that symbol that is trademarked and identifies your unique product or services in reality coke may be indistinguishable to your taste buds from other carbonated drinks however you always order a coke because you remember how good it tasted after you scored your first touchdown you also trademark to prevent others from taking your particular mark and then trying to use that mark to sell their own goods and services it's very likely that if Pepperidge Farms did not trademark its name someone would steal it and attempt to trick customers into buying their own crackers instead of Pepperidge Farms while some of us will create a unique design as our trademark that no one has ever thought of some of us want a trademark a word phrase that maybe someone has thought of and previously registered so it is really smart to research whether or not your word phrase if you have a word phrase has been used before and previously registered there are three different types of research to perform to determine whether or not the word phrase you on a trademark has been used before or as previously registered but before we get there here's when you may want to get an attorney involved in the trademark process attorneys have access to very sophisticated professional databases that provide very timely and accurate information about pending trademark applications so if you have the resources you make and are delegating the research process to them however if you're a do-it-yourselfer like me here's how to research whether or not pending trademark applications are in the computer system first it's really easy perform a Google search and determine whether or not the words you want a trademark appear in business anywhere else second go to who is ICANN org and do a search and find out whether or not the words you want a trademark appear in domain names in the world the last part of the research happens at the website for the US Patent and Trademark Office you use a system that they have it's free to use called tests trademark electronic search system you use the system determine out whether or not there are pending trademark applications in America for the words you want a trademark test is really easy to use simply go to the website for the USPTO gov hover over the trademarks tab click on searching trademarks scroll down to search trademark database you click there move down to basic word mark search and then you click there then you go into the search term field and you type in the words that you want to be trademarked I previously entered what a feeling because I was pretending like I was selling a online product like an online vitamin and I can see here that there's at least one application for this mark that is live in other words it's pending when it says dead then the mark has been abandoned and is available you use the basic word mark search when you're trying to trademark words however when you want a trademark a design you have to use the design mark search and I made a video about how to use that design word mark search and you can find the link to that video in the description section below if you do not see in this screen that the words that you want to use as your trademark has a live application pending then you're looking good for a trademark and you can move on to the next step but before we get there let's take a quick break we've been talking about a lot of complex subjects do you want to trademark a product or a service if you want to trademark a product then write trademark in the comments if you want to trademark a service then write service mark in the comments below okay let's get back to the steps step number three use your trademark to lock in your trademark you actually have to use the words in the symbol in your online business in America once a business starts to use a distinctive name or symbol immediately and automatically has the right to prevent others from using that distinctive name or symbol basically the rule is use it or lose it how do you use a trademark well first your trademark has to be used in your actual business second you have to display the mark so that it's physically associated with the particular product or service that you are going to sell so that could be like a label or a tag perhaps the trademark appears on your website step number four register your trademark once you have used your trademark your next step is to protect it under federal law by officially registering it where do you register it by going back to the USPTO gov website under the trademarks tab go to apply online click on initial application forms there's three different types of application forms I use the TE a s RF at this time of the video it costs $50 more than the cheapest application but I don't want to go through the goods and services listing and I really don't mind communicating with the USPTO through email and online correspondence when you get to the applications scroll down and check no an attorney is not filing this application then you click continue at the bottom here you fill up the applicant contact information remember applicant means the owner of the mark not the person filling out the form so if you want your business to own the mark you should enter in the business name as the applicant after you're done filling out the contact information click continue and you arrive at the mark information screen you click on standard characters and then you enter in the trademark phrase and maybe you get a preview it like I did here then you click continue next is the good service information screen click on add goods and services then type in the basic category for your product click on go then you get this listing of all these different types of related products in this example I'm seeking at trademark for cornbread and so I clicked the cornbread box and hit inserted checked entries then you just click on the bottom continue you don't need to identify the filing basis then it's continue again this takes you to the final screens of the trademark application you enter in your payment information and then you submit the trademark application form and there you have it you did it your trademark application is submitted step number five wait for official registration the next step in the process is actually waiting waiting for the notice of publication if you get that then you know your trademark application was properly prepared when you get the notice of publicatio
Thanks Siobhan your participation is very much appreciated
- Samara Arcizo
About the author
I've studied anthrozoology at Salem College in Winston-Salem and I am an expert in architecture (outline). I usually feel irritated. My previous job was child life specialist I held this position for 26 years, I love talking about fruit picking and sprouting. Huge fan of Nancy Pelosi I practice commonwealth games and collect sports memorabilia.
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