I get a lot of inquiries from clients who are attempting to register a trademark which is not really “registerable.” This is because they are trying to achieve trademark registration on a word that is generic for the product or service they are offering.
It is extremely important when selecting a trademark to ensure it use unique enough to quality for trademark protection.
On one extreme, the most protectable type of trademark, often referred to as a “fanciful” mark, is a mark which is a completely made up word. An example of such a mark is Kleenex, which not a word until it was invented by the company and thus has no dictionary meaning. The value of a fanciful mark in particular is that nobody can really validate their use of the mark legally because the word did not even exist until you created it. Another type of mark that is generally very strong is a mark which bears no obvious relation to the product it represents, such as Apple referring to computers. Because these marks have no obvious relation to the product to which they refer, they are highly protectable trademarks.
The weakest trademarks, on the other hand, are marks which clearly relate to the products to which they refer. For example “Flame-grilled Chicken” as a name for a restaurant that features flame-grilled chicken is clearly descriptive and lacking in creativity. It would be virtually impossible to even register this trademark.
Your best bet as you create your mark is to be as creative as possible and stray away from anything that could be seen as describing the product or service you intend to offer under the trademark. The more arbitrary the relation of the mark to the product is, the stronger your mark will be. The originality of your mark proportionally increases its strength.
If you have any questions regarding the strength of your proposed trademark please call trademark attorney Josh Gerben at 1-877-350-6275. You may also visit the US Government’s trademark Web site at www.uspto.gov for more information.
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