Company names used in commerce

Product and service names

Slogans and taglines

Logos, icons, emblems, and stylized lettering

Packaging elements that function as brand identifiers (trade dress)

Colors (when uniquely associated with a brand)

Sounds (e.g., distinctive jingles)

Shapes (distinctive product or packaging shapes)

Stops others from using similar marks that could mislead buyers about the source

Protects customers from counterfeit or look-alike branding

Reduces the risk of poor-quality imitations damaging goodwill

Helps ensure consistent brand experience associated with the mark

Enables owners to demand cessation of infringing use

Supports takedown requests on marketplaces and social platforms

Strengthens legal claims for infringement and unfair competition

Grants the right to use the mark for specific goods/services in particular territories

Helps block later users from adopting confusingly similar names/logos

Rights typically arise from actual use of the mark in the marketplace

Marks must be used as identifiers of source, not merely decorative text or artwork

Similarity of the marks (look, sound, meaning)

Relatedness of goods/services

Channels of trade and target customers

Evidence of actual confusion (if any)

Strength or distinctiveness of the original mark

Fanciful (strongest): invented words

Arbitrary: common words used unrelatedly

Suggestive: hints at qualities without describing

Descriptive (weaker): describes features; may need secondary meaning

Generic (not protectable): common name for the product/service

Protection is tied to specific classes of goods/services

Territorial nature: protection depends on the country/region

Not a monopoly over all uses of a word/logo in every context

Identify the source of physical products

Identify the source of services

Overall look and feel of packaging or product design when it indicates source

Collective: indicates membership in an organization

Certification: indicates compliance with standards (quality, origin, method)

Can exist through use, often limited to the geographic area of reputation/use

May be harder to enforce and prove ownership/scope

Public notice of ownership and claim

Clearer nationwide/territorial presumptions (depending on jurisdiction)

Stronger remedies and easier enforcement in disputes

Ability to record marks with customs or use platform brand registries (where available)

® symbol (where permitted) signals formal rights and discourages infringers

Facilitates licensing, franchising, and partnerships

Helps with investor confidence and due diligence

Supports faster takedowns and brand protection programs

Reduces risk of impersonation and counterfeit listings

Trademarks protect brand identifiers, not inventions or functional features

Copyright protects original creative works, not brand source identifiers as such

Mere company registration does not automatically create trademark rights

Useful, functional aspects are generally not protectable as trademarks

Evaluate existing marks for similarity and related goods/services

Consider common-law and unregistered uses (web, social media, directories)

Specify owner, mark, and goods/services classes

Respond to office actions or examiner objections if raised

Third parties may challenge registration within a set window

Use the mark consistently

File renewals and proof of continued use as required

Monitor the market for infringing or confusingly similar uses

Watch services, marketplace monitoring, and domain/social handle checks

Cease-and-desist letters

Platform takedowns and counterfeit reporting

Opposition/cancellation proceedings

Litigation in serious cases

Prevent use that weakens a famous mark’s distinctiveness (where recognized)

Stop blurring and tarnishment scenarios

Prevents competitors from adopting a confusingly similar name for related goods/services

Stops use of a similar icon or stylized lettering that could imply affiliation

Can protect a distinctive package look that consumers associate with one brand