What are the rules of a trademark?

Simple Trademark Rules and Considerations

• Avoid Commonly Used or Descriptive Terms.
• Avoid Signs of Trademark Conflicts.
• You Can File a Trademark Application Before You Use Your Mark in Commerce.
• Trademark Applications are Not as Simple as They Look.
• Trademarks Should Be Used as Adjectives and Not Nouns or Verbs.

Can a generic word be trademarked?

Generic terms are not protected by trademark law, either in India or outside India In fact, one of the most important limitations on the legal protection of a word adopted as a trademark is that it cannot be a term that refers or has come to be primarily understood by the public as referring to a ‘product category’.

What are generic terms in trademark law?

Generic terms are terms that the relevant purchasing public understands primarily as the common or class name for the goods or services. In re Dial-A-Mattress Operating Corp., 240 F. 3d 1341, 57 USPQ2d 1807, 1811 (Fed.

What does it mean to trademark a word?

When you trademark a word, you give a person or company exclusive rights to connect one brand with that word. You can trademark a word that identifies your company or your products. Use the trademark symbol (TM) for a trademark that isn’t registered with the USPTO.

What does trademark law usually protect?

(1) A trademark shall protect a sign which may be represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. shall not, under this Law, be considered to be trademarks.

Can you trademark a general name?

Since everyone deserves the right to accurately identify the type of goods or services it sells, to allow a single company to claim trademark rights to a generic term would impoverish the language and unfairly hamper competition. …

How do you know if a word is trademarked?

You can search all applied-for and registered trademarks free of charge by using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). If your mark includes a design element, you will have to search it by using a design code.

Why are trademarks protected?

A Trademark protects your brand and provides you with the tools to prevent someone from riding on the back of your business. Trademark is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and includes the shape of goods, their packaging, and a combination of colors.