Trade Mark
A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. It is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. It is a particular mark, stamp, or .device, which is affixed or attached to manufactured goods to show that the goods bearing the marks belong to a particular trader. It is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others, although trademarks used to identify services are usually called service marks. It is protected by law.
“A trademark exclusively identifies a product as belonging to a specific company and recognizes the company’s ownership of the brand.”
The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. This term refers to a recognizable insignia, phrase, word, or symbol that denotes a specific product and legally differentiates it from all other products of its kind. For instance, a soft drink company can’t legally use a symbol that looks like that of Coca-Cola and it can’t use a name that sounds like Coke.
A trademark exclusively identifies a product as belonging to a specific company and recognizes the company’s ownership of the brand. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights. The symbols ™ (the trademark symbol) and ® (the registered trademark symbol) can be used to indicate trademarks; the latter is only for use by the owner of a trademark that has been registered. They can be corporate logos, slogans, bands, or the brand name of a product.
Trademarks are generally considered a form of intellectual property and may or may not be registered. Similar to a trademark, a service mark identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product, and the term trademark is often used to refer to both trademarks and service marks.
