trademark

trademark, distinctive mark placed on or attached to goods by a manufacturer or dealer to identify them as made or sold by that particular firm or person. The use of a trademark indicates that the maker or dealer believes that the quality of the goods will enhance his or her standing or goodwill, and a known trademark indicates to a buyer the reputation that is staked on the goods. Registration of a trademark is necessary in some countries to give exclusive right to it. In the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, the sufficient use of a trademark not previously used establishes exclusive right to it, but registration is provided as an aid in defending that right. In the United States trademarks are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Internationally, trademark registration is facilitated by the World Intellectual Property Organization, under the Madrid Protocol. Imitations of a trademark wrong both the owner of the trademark and the buyer, who is misled as to the source of goods, and such infringements of a trademark are punishable by law.

Service marks, which are used on services (such as insurance or brokerages) rather than on products, are also covered by trademark laws.

Bibliography

See M. Wright, Inventions, Patents, and Trade-marks (2d ed. 1933); P. Meinhardt and K. Havelock, Concise Trade Mark Law and Practice (1983).

---

trademark

Mark used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify the origin or ownership of goods and to distinguish them from others. Trademarks may be words or groups of words, letters, numerals, devices, names, the shape or other presentation of products or their packages, or combinations of colours. A trademark (indicated by ^TM or, when registered, by the symbol ®) is considered the property of the holder and is protected by law from unauthorized use by others. In most countries, registration is a prerequisite for ownership and protection of the mark. In the U.S., however, the trademark right is granted by the mere use of the mark, though registration often proves legally advantageous. See also copyright.