Trademark

A trademark (Commonwealth English: trade mark){{an|styling}} is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by a business to identify itself and its products and services to consumers, and to set the business and its products or services apart from those of other businesses. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and in particular, a type of industrial property.

Terminology and symbols

Terms such as "mark", "brand" and "logo" are sometimes used interchangeably with "trademark". However, the terms "brands" and "branding" raise distinct conceptual issues and are generally more appropriate for use in a marketing or advertising context.

Related Topics:
Brand - Logo - Marketing - Advertising

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When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States. Other specialised types of trademark include certification marks, collective trade marks and defensive trade marks. If a trademark has become synonymous with the generic name of the product or service in connection with which it is used, it is sometimes referred to as a genericized trademark.

Related Topics:
Service mark - United States - Certification mark - Collective trade mark - Defensive trade mark - Synonymous - Generic - Genericized trademark

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As any sign which is capable of performing the essential trademark function may qualify as a trademark, the trademark concept extends to include a range of non-conventional signs such as shapes (ie. three-dimensional trademarks), sounds, smells, moving images (eg. signs denoting movement, motion or animation), taste, and perhaps even texture. Although the extent to which non-conventional trademarks can be protected or even recognised varies considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction {{an|non-conventional}}, shape marks and sound marks are examples of non-conventional marks which are in the process of migrating out of this category.

Related Topics:
Sounds - Jurisdiction

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The use of the ™ symbol next to a trademark, usually in the top right-hand corner, means that the trademark owner claims certain exclusive rights in relation to that trademark. Although this symbol denotes only that the owner holds unregistered trade mark rights, such rights can be enforced by way of an action for passing off. The ® symbol is used to denote that a trademark has been registered with the government trade marks office of a particular country or jurisdiction. Upon registration, a trademark can be enforced by way of an action for infringement.

Related Topics:
Exclusive right - Action - Passing off - Government - Office - Country - Action - Infringement

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