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"Pressure? I don't mind the pressure. The only pressure
I'm under is the pressure I've put on myself."
Mark Messier
Obtaining Limited Protection for Idea or Invention - Trademarks (Part 1)
Introduction
Even if inventor has determined that his idea or invention is not patentable,
he still has a few options to proceed forward. One of the options is to obtain
limited protection through a trademark. In this article, I will be discussing
Trademarks. In particular, I will define what a Trademark is and explain how
to obtain one. In my next article (Part II) I will discuss Trademark Searching
and Availability.
Definition of Trademark
Before I begin explaining the meaning of Trademark, it pays to take a look at
how United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) define this term.
According to
USPTO, "A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of
words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the
source of the goods of one party from those of others."
Can a trademark protect an idea or invention? No, it cannot. However, it may:
Uniquely identify a particular invention or idea
Associate a particular name with your invention or idea
What is unique about a Trademark is that they have potential to outlast any Patent.
Why? Because Patent has an expiration date and at some point in time in the future
will expire; Trademark, on the other hand, can survive for centuries!
A perfect example is a Coca-Cola Company. The name alone conjures up images
of dependability, power and durability. The company was able to market diverse
products and ideas, from blankets to kitchen utensils. All these inventions
were branded under Coca-Cola trademark and logo. The marketing department
at Coca-Cola company were convinced (are rightly so) that the powerful
Coca-Cola Trademark is powerful enough to make buyers go and purchase
Coca-Cola branded products.
Establishing Trademark Rights
People get very surprised when they find out that they don't have to register
their mark federally. If you feel that your invention or idea has a unique
brand name, just attach a small TM or SM (for Service mark) to the name of
your product and ... you are done. This is all legal and, once again, not too
many inventors are aware of this.
Another option is to obtain a federally registered mark, which will
allow you to:
Claim exclusive right to use your Trademark nationally
Registering Trademark in other countries, using the Madrid Protocol Forms
Prevent people illegally exporting or importing a product through U.S. Customs
Defining Service Mark
Service mark is very similar to Trade Mark except that is identifies the
service rather then product. The terms trademark and mark are used
interchangeably for both products and services. It is legal to use symbols
TM or SM for products and services without federally registering the mark.
Summary
In this article I defined the word Trademark and briefly explained how marks
are used. A working knowledge of Trademarks will be available to any inventor
once he decides to Federally Register the mark or simply use TM or SM symbols
next to brand name.
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