All Topics  
Trademark

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Trademark



 
 
A trademark or trade mark, identified by the symbols
Trademark symbol

The trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used in the United States to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. This symbol is typically used for trademarks not yet registered with the U.S....
 (not yet registered) and ®
Registered trademark symbol

The registered trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office....
 (registered), or mark is a distinctive sign
Sign (semiotics)

In semiotics, a sign is "something that stands for something else, to someone in some capacity". It may be understood as a discrete unit of Meaning , and includes words, images, gestures, scents, tastes, textures, sounds – essentially all of the ways in which information can be communicated as a message by any sentient, reasoning m...
 or indicator used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to identify that the product
Good (economics and accounting)

In economics, a good is any object or service that increases utility, directly or indirectly. It should not to be confused with the adjective "good", as used in a moral or ethics sense....
s and/or services to consumer
Consumer

Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or household that use Good generated within the economic system. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary....
s with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source of origin, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Trademark'
Start a new discussion about 'Trademark'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A trademark or trade mark, identified by the symbols
Trademark symbol

The trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used in the United States to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. This symbol is typically used for trademarks not yet registered with the U.S....
 (not yet registered) and ®
Registered trademark symbol

The registered trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office....
 (registered), or mark is a distinctive sign
Sign (semiotics)

In semiotics, a sign is "something that stands for something else, to someone in some capacity". It may be understood as a discrete unit of Meaning , and includes words, images, gestures, scents, tastes, textures, sounds – essentially all of the ways in which information can be communicated as a message by any sentient, reasoning m...
 or indicator used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to identify that the product
Good (economics and accounting)

In economics, a good is any object or service that increases utility, directly or indirectly. It should not to be confused with the adjective "good", as used in a moral or ethics sense....
s and/or services to consumer
Consumer

Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or household that use Good generated within the economic system. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary....
s with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source of origin, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. A trademark is a type of intellectual property
Intellectual property

Intellectual property are law property over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries and inventions; and words, phra...
, and typically a name, word, phrase, logo
Logo

A logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition....
, symbol
Symbol

A symbol is something such as an entity, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention....
, design, image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-conventional trademark
Non-conventional trademark

A non-conventional trademark, also known as a nontraditional trademark, is any new type of trademark which does not belong to a pre-existing, Convention al category of trade mark, and which is often difficult to register, but which may nevertheless fulfill the essential trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of...
s comprising marks which do not fall into these standard categories.

The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings
Lawsuit

In law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, called the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy or equitable remedy....
 for trademark infringement
Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees ....
 to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. However, registration is not required. The owner of a common law trademark may also file suit, but an unregistered mark may be protectable only within the geographical area within which it has been used or in geographical areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand.

The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by which an individual is readily identified, such as the well known characteristics of celebrities. When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark
Service mark

In some countries, notably the United States, a trademark used to identify a Service rather than a product is called a service mark or servicemark....
, particularly in the United States
United States trademark law

Trademarks were traditionally protected in the United States only under State common law, growing out of the tort of unfair competition. As early as 1791, Thomas Jefferson proposed that the marks of sailcloth makers could be protected under the Commerce Clause, but it was not until 1870 that United States Congress first attempted to establish a fed...
.

Fundamental concepts

The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services, such that a trademark, properly called, indicates source or serves as a badge of origin. The use of a trademark in this way is known as trademark use. Certain exclusive right
Exclusive right

In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same action or to acquire the same benefit....
s attach to a registered mark, which can be enforced by way of an action
Lawsuit

In law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, called the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy or equitable remedy....
 for trademark infringement
Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees ....
, while unregistered trademark rights may be enforced pursuant to the common law tort of passing off
Passing off

Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trademark rights. The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from a misrepresentation that causes damage to goodwill....
.

It should be noted that trademark rights generally arise out of the use and/or to maintain exclusive rights over that sign in relation to certain products or services, assuming there are no other trademark objections.

In order to register trademarks the different goods and services have been classified by the International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services
International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services

The Nice Classification is a system of classifying goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks. The latest 9th version of the system groups products into 45 classes , and allows users seeking to trademark a good or service to choose from these classes as appropriate....
 into 45 Trademark Classes (from 1 to 34 includes goods, and from 35 to 45 services). The idea of this system is to specify and limit the extension of the property right (Intellectual Property), by determining which goods or services are covered by the mark, and at the same time unify the classification system in countries around the World.

Oldest trademarks


Zildjian, the cymbal and gong company, owns the oldest continuously used U.S. trademark -- it should be noted, however, that the first two hundred years of the use of the Zildjian trademark were in Turkey as the family moved to the United States. Venetian
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
 glass blowers are thought of as using the longest continuously used trademarks. Wieliczka
Wieliczka

Wieliczka [] is a town in southern Poland in the Krak?w metropolitan area, and situated in Lesser Poland Voivodeship; previously, it was in Krak?w Voivodeship ....
, a salt mine in Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, is reported to be the source of the oldest known trademark (circa 1241 A.D.) -- even though this trademark is really appellation of origin. Finally, in trademark treatises, it is usually reported that blacksmiths who made swords in the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 are thought of as being the first users of trademarks. Other notable trademarks that have been used for a long time include Löwenbräu
Löwenbräu

L?wenbr?u is a brewery in Munich that produces a traditional Munich-style beer. Like other premium German beers, it is brewed according to the Germany ?Reinheitsgebot? dating back to 1516....
, which claims use since 1383, and Stella Artois
Stella Artois

Stella Artois is a 5% Alcohol by volume lager first brewed in Leuven, Belgium, in 1926 as a Christmas brew, and named Stella after the Latin for "star"....
, which claims use since 1366.

Registered Trademarks involve registering the trademark with the government. The oldest registered trademarks in various countries include:

Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
: 1905 -- a pine tree logo, still in use by Fisons plc. for chemicals.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
: 1874 -- Nestle
Nestlé

Nestl? is a Multinational corporation packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange with a turnover of over 87 billion Swiss francs....
's Eagle Brand for condensed milk
Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is Milk#Cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product that can last for years without refrigeration if unopened....
.

Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
: 1884 -- a design of a seated figure, registered for pills and wound dressings.

United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
: 1876 -- The Bass Red Triangle was the first trademark to be registered under the Trade Mark Registration Act 1875.

United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
: 1870 -- an eagle logo used for paints by Averill Paints, which is no longer in use.

Symbols

The two symbols associated with U.S. trademarks ™ (the trademark symbol
Trademark symbol

The trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used in the United States to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. This symbol is typically used for trademarks not yet registered with the U.S....
) and ® (the registered trademark symbol
Registered trademark symbol

The registered trademark symbol, designated by ? , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office....
) represent the status of a mark and accordingly its level of protection. While ™ can be used with any common law usage of a mark, ® may only be used by the owner of a mark following registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or PTO) and designates such. The proper manner to display either symbol is immediately following the mark in superscript style.

Terminology

Terms such as "mark", "brand
Brand

A brand is a collection of symbols, experiences and associations connected with a product, a service, a person or any other artifact or entity....
" and "logo
Logo

A logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition....
" are sometimes used interchangeably with "trademark". "Trademark", however, also includes any device, brand, label, name, signature, word, letter, numerical, shape of goods, packaging, combination of colours, or any combination thereof which is capable of distinguishing goods and services of one person from those of others. It must be capable of graphical representation and must be applied to goods or services for which it is registered.

Specialized types of trademark include certification mark
Certification mark

A certification mark on a commercial product indicates five things:* The existence of a legal follow-up or product certification agreement between the manufacturer of a product and an organisation with national accreditation for both testing and certification,...
s, collective trademarks and defensive trademarks. A trademark which is popularly used to describe a product or service (rather than to distinguish the product or services from those of third parties) is sometimes known as a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark

A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for a general class of Good or Service , rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder....
. If such a mark becomes synonym
Synonym

Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy....
ous with that product or service to the extent that the trademark owner can no longer enforce its proprietary rights, the mark becomes generic.

Establishing trademark rights

The law considers a trademark to be a form of property
Property

Property is any physical or virtual entity that is ownership by an individual or jointly by a group of individuals. An owner of property has the right to consumption, sell, Renting, mortgage, transfer and exchange his or her property....
. Proprietary
Proprietary

The word proprietary indicates that a party, or proprietor, exercises private ownership, control or use over an item of property.Terms relating to Proprietary include:...
 right
Right

Rights are legal or moral entitlements or permissions. Rights are of vital importance in theories of justice and deontology.Many contemporary notions of rights are Universality and egalitarianism, with equal rights granted to all people....
s in relation to a trademark may be established through actual use in the marketplace
Marketplace

A marketplace is the space, actual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie....
, or through registration of the mark with the trademarks office
Registry

Registry may refer to:In animal breeding:* Breed registry, a record of the ancestry and ownership of purebred animalsIn computing:...
 (or "trademarks registry") of a particular jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
. In many jurisdictions, trademark rights can be established through either or both means. Certain jurisdictions generally do not recognize trademarks rights arising through use. However, unregistered trademarks may still be protected by copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
 laws in China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 and the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
. In the United States the only way to qualify for a federally registered trademark is to first use the trademark in commerce. If trademark owners do not hold registrations for their marks in such jurisdictions, the extent to which they will be able to enforce their rights through trademark infringement
Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees ....
 proceedings will therefore be limited. In cases of dispute, this disparity of rights is often referred to as "first to file" as opposed to "first to use". Other countries such as Germany offer a limited amount of common law rights for unregistered marks where to gain protection, the goods or services must occupy a highly significant position in the marketplace - where this could be 40% or more market share for sales in the particular class of goods or services.

A registered trademark confers a bundle
Bundle of Rights

The bundle of rights is a common way to explain the complexities of property ownership. Teachers often use this concept as a way to organize confusing and sometimes contradictory data about real estate....
 of exclusive right
Exclusive right

In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same action or to acquire the same benefit....
s upon the registered owner, including the right to exclusive
Exclusive

Exclusive may refer to:*In journalism, exclusive can refer to information provided to or available from only one news outlet, such as an interview or photograph....
 use of the mark in relation to the products or services for which it is registered. The law in most jurisdictions also allows the owner of a registered trademark to prevent unauthorized use of the mark in relation to products or services which are identical or "colourfully" similar to the "registered" products or services, and in certain cases, prevent use in relation to entirely dissimilar products or services. The test is always whether a consumer of the goods or services will be confused as to the identity of the source or origin. An example maybe a very large multinational brand such as "Sony" where a non-electronic product such as a pair of sunglasses might be assumed to have come from Sony Corporation of Japan despite not being a class of goods that Sony has rights in.

Once trademark rights are established in a particular jurisdiction, these rights are generally only enforceable in that jurisdiction, a quality which is sometimes known as territoriality. However, there is a range of international trademark laws and systems which facilitate the protection of trademarks in more than one jurisdiction (see International trademark laws below).

Trademark search

To avoid conflicts with earlier trademark rights, it is highly recommended to conduct trademark searches before the trademarks office
Registry

Registry may refer to:In animal breeding:* Breed registry, a record of the ancestry and ownership of purebred animalsIn computing:...
 (or "trademarks registry") of a particular jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
—e.g. . It may also be advisable to conduct a broader search as well, including databases that contain names of registered companies and also an Internet search to determine if the desired trademark is either already registered as a domain name or otherwise being used. The reason for this is because trademark offices typically only search issued trademarks and pending applications in order to determine whether a trademark should issue. For business reasons, however, an applicant may want to consider a different trademark even if it could be registered if the domain name is taken or other businesses are using the trademark as an unregistered name or slogan.

In the United States, obtaining a trademark search and relying upon the results is also very important because it can insulate the applicant from any future finding that you willfully infringed the trademark of another. Essentially, if you obtain a search and in good faith feel the use of a mark would not be infringing it will be virtually impossible for anyone to prove later that you purposefully engaged in infringing activities.

In Europe and if a community trademark has to be filed, searches have to be conducted with the OHIM (Community Trademark Office) and with the various national offices. An alternative solution is to conduct a trademark search within private databases.

Ability to Register

In most systems, a trademark can be registered if it is able to distinguish the goods or services
Trademark distinctiveness

Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if amongst other things it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character....
 of a party, will not confuse consumers about the relationship between one party and another, and will not otherwise deceive consumers with respect to the qualities of the product.

Distinctive character


Maintaining trademark rights

Trademarks rights must be maintained through actual lawful use of the trademark. These rights will cease if a mark is not actively used for a period of time, normally 5 years in most jurisdictions. In the case of a trademark registration, failure to actively use the mark in the lawful course of trade, or to enforce the registration in the event of infringement, may also expose the registration itself to become liable for an application for the removal from the register after a certain period of time on the grounds of "non-use". It is not necessary for a trademark owner to take enforcement action against all infringement if it can be shown that the owner perceived the infringement to be minor and inconsequential. This is designed to prevent owners from continually being tied up in litigation for fear of cancellation. An owner can at any time commence action for infringement against a third party as long as it had not previously notified the third party of its discontent following third party use and then failed to take action within a reasonable period of time (called acquiescence). The owner can always reserve the right to take legal action until a court decides that the third party had gained notoriety which the owner 'must' have been aware of. It will be for the third party to prove their use of the mark is substantial as it is the onus of a company using a mark to check they are not infringing previously registered rights. In the US, owing to the overwhelming number of unregistered rights, trademark applicants are advised to perform searches not just of the trademark register but of local business directories and relevant trade press. Specialized search companies perform such tasks prior to application.

All jurisdictions with a mature trademark registration system provide a mechanism for removal in the event of such non use, which is usually a period of either three or five years. The intention to use a trademark can be proven by a wide range of acts as shown in the Wooly Bull and Ashton v Harlee cases.

In the U.S., failure to use a trademark for this period of time, aside from the corresponding impact on product quality, will result in abandonment of the mark, whereby any party may use the mark. An abandoned mark is not irrevocably in the public domain
Public domain

File:PD-icon.svgThe public domain is a range of abstract materials?commonly referred to as intellectual property?which are not owned or controlled by anyone....
, but may instead be re-registered by any party which has re-established exclusive and active use, and must be associated or linked with the original mark owner. If a court rules that a trademark has become "generic
Genericized trademark

A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for a general class of Good or Service , rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder....
" through common use (such that the mark no longer performs the essential trademark function and the average consumer no longer considers that exclusive rights attach to it), the corresponding registration may also be ruled invalid.

For examples, see trademark distinctiveness
Trademark distinctiveness

Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if amongst other things it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character....
.

Enforcing trademark rights

The extent to which a trademark owner may prevent unauthorized use of trademarks which are the same as or similar to its trademark depends on various factors such as whether its trademark is registered, the similarity of the trademarks involved, the similarity of the products and/or services involved, and whether the owner’s trademark is well known.

If a trademark has not been registered, some jurisdictions (especially Common Law
Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
 countries) offer protection for the business
Business

A business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide good s and/or Service to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalism economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners....
 reputation
Reputation

Reputation is the opinion of the public toward a person, a Group , or an organization. It is an important factor in many fields, such as education, business, online communities or social status....
 or goodwill which attaches to unregistered trademarks through the tort
Tort

Tort law is the name given to a body of law that addresses, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations. A person who suffers legal damages may be able to use tort law to receive compensation from someone who is liability, or "liable," for those injuries....
 of passing off. Passing off may provide a remedy in a scenario where a business has been trading under an unregistered trademark for many years, and a rival business starts using the same or a similar mark.

If a trademark has been registered, then it is much easier for the trademark owner to demonstrate its trademark rights and to enforce these rights through an infringement action. Unauthorized use of a registered trademark need not be intentional in order for infringement to occur, although damages in an infringement lawsuit
Lawsuit

In law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, called the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy or equitable remedy....
 will generally be greater if there was an intention to deceive.

For trademarks which are considered to be well known, infringing use may occur where the use occurs in relation to products or services which are not the same as or similar to the products or services in relation to which the owner's mark is registered.

Limits and defenses to trademark

Trademark is subject to various defenses and limitations. In the United States, the fair use
Fair use (U.S. trademark law)

In the United States, trademark law includes a fair use defense, sometimes called "trademark fair use" to distinguish it from the better-known fair use doctrine in copyright law....
 defense protects uses that would be otherwise protected by the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "Establishment Clause of the First Amendment" or that prohibit the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, laws that infringe the Freedom of speech in the United State...
. Fair use may be asserted on two grounds, either that the alleged infringer is using the mark to describe accurately an aspect of its products, or that the alleged infringer is using the mark to identify the mark owner. One of the most visible proofs that trademarks provide a limited right in the U.S. comes from the comparative advertising that is seen throughout U.S. media.

An example of the first type is that although Maytag owns the trademark "Whisper Quiet", makers of other products may describe their goods as being "whisper quiet" so long as these competitors are not using the phrase as a trademark.

An example of the second type is that Audi
Audi

AUDI AG, is a Germany car manufacturer which produces cars under the Audi brand, . The name Audi is based on a latin translation of the last name of the founder August "Horch", itself the German word for ?hear." Another explanation for the origin of the name is as an acronym for ?Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt."...
 can run advertisements saying that a trade publication has rated an Audi model higher than a BMW
BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
 model, since they are only using "BMW" to identify the competitor. In a related sense, an auto mechanic can truthfully advertise that he services Cadillac
Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
s, and a former Playboy Playmate of the Year can identify herself as such on her website.

Wrongful or groundless threats of infringement
Various jurisdictions have laws which are designed to prevent trademark owners from making wrongful threats of trademark infringement action against other parties. These laws are intended to prevent large or powerful companies from intimidating or harassing smaller companies.

Where one party makes a threat to sue another for trademark infringement, but does not have a genuine basis or intention to carry out that threat, or does not carry out the threat at all within a certain period, the threat may itself become a basis for legal action. In this situation, the party receiving such a threat may seek from the Court, a declaratory judgment
Declaratory judgment

A declaratory judgment is a judgment of a court in a civil case which declares the rights, duties, or obligations of each party in a dispute. It is commonly called a declaratory ruling, a term which also includes decisions of regulatory government agency....
; also known as a declaratory ruling.

Other aspects


Public policy

Trademark law is designed to fulfill the public policy
Public policy

Public policy can be generally defined as the course of action or inaction taken by government entities with regard to a particular issue or set of issues....
 objective of consumer protection
Consumer protection

Consumer protection is a form of government regulation which protects the interests of consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products?particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food....
, by preventing the public from being misled as to the origin or quality of a product or service. By identifying the commercial source of products and services, trademarks facilitate identification of products and services which meet the expectations of consumers as to quality and other characteristics.

Trademarks may also serve as an incentive for manufacturers, providers or suppliers to consistently provide quality products or services in order to maintain their business reputation. Furthermore, if a trademark owner does not maintain quality control
Quality control

In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are used in developing systems to ensure product s or Service are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements....
 and adequate supervision in relation to the manufacture and provision of products or services supplied by a licensee, such "naked licensing" will eventually adversely impact on the owner's rights in the trademark. This proposition has, however, been watered down by the judgment of the House of Lords in the case of Scandecor Development AB v. Scandecor Marketing AB et al. [2001] UKHL 21; wherein it has been held that the mere fact that a bare license (equivalent of the United States concept of a naked license) has been granted did not automatically mean that a trademark was liable to mislead.

By the same token, trademark holders must be cautious in the sale of their mark for similar reasons as apply to licensing. When assigning an interest in a trademark, if the associated product or service is not transferred with it, then this may be an "assignment-in-gross" and could lead to a loss of rights in the trademark. It is still possible to make significant changes to the underlying goods or services during a sale without jeopardizing the trademark, but companies will often contract with the sellers to help transition the mark and goods and/or services to the new owners to ensure continuity of the trademark.

Comparison with patents, designs and copyright

While trademark law seeks to protect indications of the commercial source of products or services, patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 law generally seeks to protect new and useful inventions, and registered designs law generally seeks to protect the look or appearance of a manufactured article. Trademarks, patents and designs collectively form a subset of intellectual property known as industrial property because they are often created and used in an industrial or commercial context.

By comparison, copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
 law generally seeks to protect original literary, artistic and other creative works. A trademark also does not expire (if it is re-registered), whereas international copyright law (which varies from country to country) usually lasts the duration of the author's lifespan plus 70 years. This can lead to confusion in cases where a work passes into the public domain
Public domain

File:PD-icon.svgThe public domain is a range of abstract materials?commonly referred to as intellectual property?which are not owned or controlled by anyone....
 but the character in question remains a registered trademark.

Although intellectual property laws such as these are theoretically distinct, more than one type may afford protection to the same article. For example, the particular design of a bottle may qualify for copyright protection as a non-utilitarian [sculpture], or for trademark protection based on its shape, or the 'trade dress' appearance of the bottle as a whole may be protectable. Titles and character names from books or movies may also be protectable as trademarks while the works from which they are drawn may qualify for copyright protection as a whole.

Drawing these distinctions is necessary but often challenging for the courts and lawyers, especially in jurisdictions where patents and copyrights when they pass into the public domain
Public domain

File:PD-icon.svgThe public domain is a range of abstract materials?commonly referred to as intellectual property?which are not owned or controlled by anyone....
 depending on the jurisdiction. Unlike patents and copyrights, which in theory are granted for one-off fixed terms, trademarks remain valid as long as the owner actively uses and defends them and maintains their registrations with the applicable jurisdiction's trademarks office. This often involves payment of a periodic renewal fee.

As a trademark must be used in order to maintain rights in relation to that mark, a trademark can be 'abandoned' or its registration can be canceled or revoked if the mark is not continuously used. By comparison, patents and copyrights cannot be 'abandoned' and a patent holder or copyright owner can generally enforce their rights without taking any particular action to maintain the patent or copyright. Additionally, patent holders and copyright owners may not necessarily need to actively police their rights. However, a failure to bring a timely infringement suit or action against a known infringer may give the defendant a defense of implied consent or estoppel
Estoppel

Estoppel is a law doctrine at common law, where a party is barred from claiming or denying an argument on an equitable ground. Estoppel complements the requirement of consideration in contract law....
 when suit is finally brought.

Dilution

A trademark is diluted when the use of similar or identical trademarks in other non-competing markets means that the trademark in and of itself will lose its capacity to signify a single source. In other words, unlike ordinary trademark law, dilution protection extends to trademark uses that do not confuse consumers regarding who has made a product. Instead, dilution protection law aims to protect sufficiently strong trademarks from losing their singular association in the public mind with a particular product, perhaps imagined if the trademark were to be encountered independently of any product (e.g., just the word Pepsi
Pepsi

Pepsi is a Carbonation that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in retail stores, restaurants, cinemas and from vending machines....
 spoken, or on a billboard). Under trademark law, dilution occurs either when unauthorized use of a mark "blurs" the "distinctive nature of the mark" or "tarnishes it." Likelihood of confusion is not required. 15 U.S.C §§ 1127, 1125(c).

Sale, transfer and licensing of trademarks

In various jurisdictions a trademark may be sold with or without the underlying goodwill which subsists in the business associated with the mark. However, this is not the case in the United States, where the courts have held that this would "be a fraud upon the public". In the U.S., trademark registration can therefore only be sold and assigned if accompanied by the sale of an underlying asset. Examples of assets whose sale would ordinarily support the assignment of a mark include the sale of the machinery used to produce the goods that bear the mark, or the sale of the corporation (or subsidiary) that produces the trademarked goods.

Most jurisdictions provide for the use of trademarks to be licensed to third parties. The licensor (usually the trademark owner) must monitor the quality of the goods being produced by the licensee to avoid the risk of trademark being deemed abandoned by the courts. A trademark license should therefore include appropriate provisions dealing with quality control, whereby the licensee provides warranties as to quality and the licensor has rights to inspection and monitoring.

Trademarks and domain names

The advent of the domain name system
Domain name system

The Domain Name System is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource participating in the Internet. It associates various information with domain names assigned to such participants....
 has led to attempts by trademark holders to enforce their rights over domain names that are similar or identical to their existing trademarks, particularly by seeking control over the domain names at issue. As with dilution protection, enforcing trademark rights over domain name owners involves protecting a trademark outside the obvious context of its consumer market, because domain names are global and not limited by goods or service.

This conflict was more easily resolved when the domain name user actually used his website to compete with the trademark owner. Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting , according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else....
, however, involves no such competition, but instead an unlicensed user registering the trademark as a domain name in order to pressure a payoff (or other benefit) from the lawful mark owner. Typosquatters
Typosquatting

Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, is a form of cybersquatting which relies on mistakes such as typographical errors made by Internet users when inputting a url into a web browser....
—those registering common misspellings of trademarks as domain names—have also been targeted successfully in trademark infringement suits. Other types of domain name disputes include the so-called "gripe site
Gripe site

A gripe site is a type of website devoted to the critique and or mockery of a person, place, politician, corporation or institution. They are also known as "complaint" or "sucks" sites....
," which use a registered trademark in a domain such as "[trademark]sucks.com." There are also disputes arising from the subdomain
Subdomain

In the Domain Name System hierarchy, a subdomain is a domain name that is part of a larger domain. For example, "mail.example.com" and "calendar.example.com" are subdomains of the "example.com" domain, which in turn is a subdomain of the "com" top-level domain ....
, when a third party uses a protected mark in a web address such as "[trademark].[legitimatedomain].com."

This clash of the new technology with preexisting trademark rights resulted in several high profile decisions as the courts of many countries tried to coherently address the issue (and not always successfully) within the framework of existing trademark law. As the website itself was not the product being purchased, there was no actual consumer confusion, and so initial interest confusion was a concept applied instead. Initial interest confusion refers to customer confusion that creates an initial interest in a competitor's "product" (in the online context, another party's website). Even though initial interest confusion is dispelled by the time any actual sales occur, it allows a trademark infringer to capitalize on the goodwill associated with the original mark.

Several cases have wrestled with the concept of initial interest confusion. In Playboy v. Netscape, the court found initial interest confusion when users typed in Playboy's trademarks into a search engine, resulting in the display of search results alongside unlabeled banner ads, triggered by keywords that included Playboy's marks, that would take users to Playboy's competitors. Though users might ultimately realize upon clicking on the banner ads that they were not Playboy-affiliated, the court found that the competitor advertisers could have gained customers by appropriating Playboy's goodwill since users may be perfectly happy to browse the competitor's site instead of returning the search results to find the Playboy sites.

In Lamparello v. Falwell, however, the court clarified that a finding of initial interest confusion is contingent on financial profit from said confusion, such that, if a domain name confusing similar to a registered trademark is used for a non-trademark related website, the site owner will not be found to have infringed where he does not seek to capitalize on the mark's goodwill for his own commercial enterprises.

In addition, courts have upheld the rights of trademark owners with regard to commercial use of domain names, even in cases where goods sold there legitimately bear the mark. In the landmark decision , Defendants had registered the domain name "Levitron.com" to sell goods bearing the trademark "Levitron" under an at-will license from the trademark owner. The 10th Circuit affirmed the rights of the trademark owner with regard to said domain name, despite arguments of promissory estoppel.

Most courts particularly frowned on cybersquatting, and found that it was itself a sufficiently commercial use (i.e., "trafficking" in trademarks) to reach into the area of trademark infringement. Most jurisdictions have since amended their trademark laws to address domain names specifically, and to provide explicit remedies against cybersquatters.

This international legal change has also led to the creation of ICANN
ICANN

ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.Headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, California, United States, ICANN is a non-profit corporation that was created on September 18, 1998 in order to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly on behalf of the Federal government of t...
 Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names....
 (UDRP) and other dispute policies for specific countries (such as Nominet UK
Nominet UK

Nominet UK is the .uk domain name registry in the United Kingdom, which was founded by Dr Willie Black on 14 May 1996 when its predecessor, the 'Naming Committee' was unable to deal with the volume of registrations then being sought under the .uk domain....
's DRS
DRS

DRS may refer to:* Data-relay satellite* Doctorandus or Doctorus , a Dutch academic title, equivalent to a Master's degree in English speaking countries and corresponding to passing the test for entry into Ph.D....
) which attempt to streamline the process of resolving who should own a domain name (without dealing with other infringement issues such as damages). This is particularly desirable to trademark owners when the domain name registrant may be in another country or even anonymous.

Registrants of domain names also sometimes wish to register the domain names themselves (e.g., "XYZ.COM") as trademarks for perceived advantages, such as an extra bulwark against their domain being hijacked, and to avail themselves of such remedies as confusion or passing off against other domain holders with confusingly similar or intentionally misspelled domain names.

As with other trademarks, the domain name will not be subject to registration unless the proposed mark is actually used to identify the registrant's goods or services to the public, rather than simply being the location on the Internet where the applicant's web site appears. Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce company in Seattle, Washington. It is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the internet sales revenue of runner up Staples, Inc....
 is a prime example of a protected trademark for a domain name central to the public's identification of the company and its products.

Terms which are not protectable by themselves, such as a generic term or a merely descriptive term that has not acquired secondary meaning, may become registrable when a Top-Level Domain Name (e.g. dot-COM) is appended to it. An example of such a domain name ineligible for trademark or service mark protection as a generic term, but which currently has a registered U.S. service mark, is "HEARSAY.COM" .

International trademark laws

It is important to note that although there are systems which facilitate the filing, registration or enforcement of trademark rights in more than one jurisdiction on a regional or global basis (e.g. the Madrid and CTM systems, see further below), it is currently not possible to file and obtain a single trademark registration which will automatically apply around the world. Like any national law, trademark laws apply only in their applicable country or jurisdiction, a quality which is sometimes known as "territoriality".

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

The inherent limitations of the territorial application of trademark laws have been mitigated by various intellectual property
Intellectual property

Intellectual property are law property over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries and inventions; and words, phra...
 treaties
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
, foremost amongst which is the WTO
World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an international organization designed to supervise and Free trade international trade. The WTO came into being on 1 January 1995, and is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which was created in 1947, and continued to operate for almost five decades as a de facto international org...
 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation....
. TRIPS establishes legal compatibility between member jurisdictions by requiring the harmonization of applicable laws. For example, Article 15(1) of TRIPS provides a definition for "sign" which is used as or forms part of the definition of "trademark" in the trademark legislation of many jurisdictions around the world.

The Madrid system for the international registration of marks


The major international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions is commonly known as the "Madrid system". Madrid provides a centrally administered system for securing trademark registrations in member jurisdictions by extending the protection of an "international registration" obtained through the World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
. This international registration is in turn based upon an application or registration obtained by a trade mark applicant in its home jurisdiction.

The primary advantage of the Madrid system is that it allows a trademark owner to obtain trademark protection in many jurisdictions by filing one application in one jurisdiction with one set of fees, and make any changes (e.g. changes of name or address) and renew registration across all applicable jurisdictions through a single administrative process. Furthermore, the "coverage" of the international registration may be extended to additional member jurisdictions at any time.

Trademark Law Treaty

The Trademark Law Treaty establishes a system pursuant to which member jurisdictions agree to standardize procedural aspects of the trademark registration process. It is not necessarily respective of rules within individual countries.

Community Trade Mark system


The Community Trade Mark system is the trademark system which applies in the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, whereby registration of a trademark with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , or OHIM is the trademark and industrial designs registry for the single market of the European Union....
 (Trade Marks and Designs) (i.e. OHIM, the trademarks office of the European Union), leads to a registration which is effective throughout the EU as a whole. The CTM system is therefore said to be unitary in character, in that a CTM registration applies indivisibly across all European Union member states. However, the CTM system did not replace the national trademark registration systems; the CTM system and the national systems continue to operate in parallel to each other (see also European Union trade mark law).

If you reside outside the EU, you must have professional representative to the procedures before the OHIM. If you are a European resident, you don’t have to have professional representation to file an opposition, however, it is strongly recommended by the OHIM.

One of the tasks of a CTM owner is the monitoring of the later applications whether any of those is similar to his/her earlier trademark. Monitoring is not easy and usually requires professional expertise. To conduct a monitoring there is the so-called Trademark Watching service where it can be checked if someone tries to get registered marks that are similar to the existing marks.

Oppositions should be filed on the standard opposition form in any official language of the European Union, however, the substantive part of the opposition (e.g. the argumentations) can be submitted only in the language of the opposed application, that is one of the working languages of the OHIM, e.g. English, Spanish, German. Worth noting that in most of the cases the opponents file their oppositions in English.

Well-known trade mark

Well-known trade mark status is commonly granted to famous international trade marks in less-developed legal jurisdictions.

Pursuant to Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention
Paris convention

The Paris convention might refer to:* The Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy* The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property...
, countries are empowered to grant this status to marks that the relevant authority considers are 'well known'. In addition to the standard grounds for trade mark infringement (same/similar mark applied same/similar goods or services, and a likelihood of confusion), if the mark is deemed well known it is an infringement to apply the same or a similar mark to dissimilar goods/services where there is confusion, including where it takes unfair advantage of the well-known mark or causing detriment to it.

Furthermore, a well-known trade mark does not have to be registered in the jurisdiction in order to bring a trade mark infringement action (equivalent to bringing a passing off
Passing off

Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trademark rights. The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from a misrepresentation that causes damage to goodwill....
 claim without having to show goodwill and having a lesser burden of proof).

It is therefore easier to use the well-known mark to oppose the use of other trade marks and to show infringement.

See also

  • Enclosed T
    Enclosed T

    Enclosed T or circled Latin T is a Typography. As one of many enclosed alphanumerics, the symbol is a "T" within a circle, but should not be confused with the trademark symbol, which is also a "T" within a circle....
     
  • Merchant's mark
    Merchant's mark

    Merchants' marks are as old as the sealings of the third millennium BCE found in Sumer that originated in the Indus Valley. Impressions of cloth, strings and other packing material on the reverse of tags with seal impressions indicate...
  • Service mark
    Service mark

    In some countries, notably the United States, a trademark used to identify a Service rather than a product is called a service mark or servicemark....
    s
  • Trademark classification
    Trademark classification

    A trademark classification is a way the trademark examiners and applicants' trademark attorneys arrange documents, such as trademark and service mark applications, according to the description and scope of the types of goods or services to which the marks apply....
  • Trademark dilution
    Trademark dilution

    Trademark dilution is a trademark law concept permitting the owner of a famous trademark to forbid others from using that mark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness....
  • Trade dress
    Trade dress

    Trade dress refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that may be registered and protected from being used by competitors in the manner of a trademark....
  • Unregistered trademark


Trademark law in different countries

  • Australian trade mark law
  • Canadian trade-mark law
    Canadian trademark law

    Canadian trade-mark law provides protection to marks statutorily under the Canadian Trade-mark Act and also at common law. Trade-mark law provides protection for distinctive marks, certification marks, distinguishing guises, and proposed marks against those who appropriate the goodwill of the mark or create confusion between different vendors...
  • European Union trade mark law
  • Hong Kong trade mark law
    Hong Kong trademark law

    The trademark law of Hong Kong is based on the Trade Marks Ordinance Cap. 559, which came into force on 4 April 2003 and repealed the Trade Mark Ordinance Cap 43....
  • People's Republic of China's trademark law
    People's Republic of China's trademark law

    The system of trademark law in mainland China is administered by the Trade Mark Office . The two principal pieces of legislation forming the trademark system are the Trademark Law, and the Unfair Competition Law....
  • United Kingdom trade mark law
    United Kingdom trade mark law

    A trademark is a way for one party to distinguish themselves from another. In the business world, a trademark provides a product or organisation with an identity which cannot be imitated by its competitors....
  • United States trademark law
    United States trademark law

    Trademarks were traditionally protected in the United States only under State common law, growing out of the tort of unfair competition. As early as 1791, Thomas Jefferson proposed that the marks of sailcloth makers could be protected under the Commerce Clause, but it was not until 1870 that United States Congress first attempted to establish a fed...


Non-standard trademarks

  • Certification mark
    Certification mark

    A certification mark on a commercial product indicates five things:* The existence of a legal follow-up or product certification agreement between the manufacturer of a product and an organisation with national accreditation for both testing and certification,...
    s
  • Chartered mark
    Chartered mark

    In the USA, a chartered mark is a trademark or service mark which is given special statutory protection separate from the usual registration of trade marks and service marks....
    s
  • Collective trademarks
  • Defensive trademarks
  • Electronic registration mark
    Electronic registration mark

    An electronic registration mark is a proposed category of trademark that would restrict the use of trademarked words and phrases in online advertising....
    s
  • Geographical indication
    Geographical indication

    A geographical indication is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin . The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin....
  • Protected designation of origin
    Protected designation of origin

    Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are geographical indications, or more precisely regimes within the Protected Geographical Status framework defined in Law of the European Union to protect the names of regional foods....


Non-conventional / non-traditional trademarks

  • Colour trademark
    Colour trademark

    A colour trademark is a non-conventional trademark trademark where at least one color is used to perform the trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of products or services....
    s
  • Hologram trademark
    Hologram trademark

    A hologram trademark is a non-conventional trademark trademark where a picture sequence is used to perform the trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of products or services....
    s
  • Shape trademarks
  • Smell trademarks
  • Sound trademark
    Sound trademark

    A sound trademark is a non-conventional trademark trademark where sound is used to perform the trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of products or services....
    s
  • List of fictional brands


Other

  • Genericized trademark
    Genericized trademark

    A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for a general class of Good or Service , rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder....
    s
  • Ghost mark
    Ghost mark

    Ghost marks are trade marks which closely simulate ordinary words or phrases used in the course of trade, and which are not intended to be used as genuine trade marks....
    s
  • Madrid system
    Madrid system

    The Madrid system for the international registration of marks, also conveniently known as the Madrid system or simply Madrid, is the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world....
  • Proper adjective
    Proper adjective

    In English usage, a proper adjective is an adjective that takes an initial capital letter. A common adjective is an adjective that is not a proper adjective....
  • Trademark attorney
    Trademark attorney

    A trademark attorney or in the alternative spelling trade mark attorney, is a person who is qualified to act in matters involving trademark law and practice and provide legal advice on trade mark and design matters....
  • Company Names Tribunal
    Company Names Tribunal

    The Company Names Tribunal was created on the 1st October 2008 in the United Kingdom and is a direct result of the coming into force of Section 69 of the Companies Act 2006....


Related concepts

  • Brand
    Brand

    A brand is a collection of symbols, experiences and associations connected with a product, a service, a person or any other artifact or entity....
  • Emblem
    Emblem

    An emblem is a pictorial , abstract art or representational, that epitomizes a concept ? e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory ? or that represents a person, such as a Monarch or Saint symbology....
  • Logo
    Logo

    A logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition....


External links

  • ThinkingIP
  • INTA
  • WIPO
  • OHIM
  • in (Rosetta Edition)
  • by the International Trademark Association
    International Trademark Association

    The International Trademark Association is a worldwide not-for-profit association of member companies and firms that supports and advances trademarks and intellectual property as elements of fair and effective global commerce....
  • US anti-piracy and IP resources for small business
  • Trademark Information
  • From the Free Patent & Trademark Dictionaries