Definition: Any symbol, word or combination thereof used to represent or
identify a product. A service mark means the same thing, but
identifies a service.
Trademarks and service marks are applied to a manufacturer's or
a seller's products and services to distinguish them in the
marketplace--a valuable marketing tool, in some circumstances. A
trademark or service mark prevents another person from offering a
similar product or service confusingly similar to yours. If you
don't register your trademark, you may be prohibited from using it
by someone who has.
A logo can be a trademark, and many times they are used as such.
But a trademark can be a separate symbol from the logo of the
company. For instance, the familiar stagecoach symbol marks each
GMC product, whether it's a Buick, Chevrolet or Pontiac. The
stagecoach is GMC's trademark of quality and excellence but not its
logo. On the other hand, "Ford" is that company's logo and
trademark.
A trademark is a corporate symbol that contributes to the image
the company is trying to build. It is a mark of quality and
excellence that identifies that company as the manufacturer. Like
the logo, a trademark can be a combination of color, typestyle and
shape, or it can be just shape and color, like McDonald's golden
arches.
There is also a legal side to the term "trademark." In the legal
sense, a trademark is a form of protection of your corporate
symbols from use by unauthorized parties. Trademark registration is
filed through the Patent & Trademark Office of the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
An important point to remember when filing for trademark
protection is that a trademark is not a trade name. A trade name
identifies the business. A trademark identifies the product. For
instance, Entrepreneur Media is a trade name, while Entrepreneur is
a trademark for the magazine.
There are generally four types of marks that can be federally
registered:
- Trademarks: used to identify products
- Service marks: used to promote a service
- Collective marks: used by organizations or associations
to identify themselves
- Certification marks: such as UL (Underwriters
Laboratory) used to certify that a particular product has met the
manufacturing standards of an impartial third-party regulatory
group
Although the 1946 Lanham Trademark Act provides a limited amount
of protection to companies upon the "first use" of a symbol, you
should register a trademark as quickly as possible.