The term trademark stands for certain symbols or texts that distinguish the products of one company from the other. The prime function of trademarks is to prevent any confusion in the consumers’ minds about the source of a product that they intend to purchase.
One of the critical needs for a trademark is that it should be distinctly recognizable and not be similar to other marks existing in the market. The uniqueness of a trademark can be determined by placing it in one of the trademark groups – suggestive, descriptive, fanciful, and generic.
A descriptive mark uses a specific characteristic or aspect of a product to differentiate it from other commodities of its kind. However, marks that are descriptive are not as distinctive as some other marks and thus, they are not generally eligible to be trademarked. Although, if the mark has acquired a secondary identification that is more popular among the consumers, it can be successfully trademarked.
Suggestive marks, as is evident by the name, suggest an essential feature of the product. However, it is usually the case that the mark and the product do not show any obvious relation and the consumers might have to guess the link between the two. For instance, the brand name known as ‘Hush Puppies’ points to a comfortable range of footwear that makes sure that your feet do not become sore. The prime reason behind such a name is that ‘barking dogs’ is used as a slang for sore feet in some places in America.
Arbitrary marks are those marks which do not have any link whatsoever with the product itself. For example, the usage of the mark ‘Apple’ for computers is totally disconnected from the product. Similarly, there is no link between the fanciful name Exxon and the items sold under the trademark as it is a fruit of the creative mind of the marketing agents of the firm.
Finally, generic marks are ones which represent a general category of products like ‘olive oil’ and are granted no protection under the existing trademark laws.
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