A trademark is considered legal protection of intellectual property. You need to submit an application and have your application approved before it gets protection. A trademark could be symbols, words, designs, names, or a combination of these elements.

You can take the help of online trademark attorneys if you are unsure about the application process. The rules regarding trademarking can have changed over the years; many things can be trademarked now.

Requirements to Obtain a Trademark

You need to meet two requirements before you are eligible to receive a trademark:

• Use in commerce

This requirement took birth from the constitutional law and the Lanham Act. The constitution of the U.S. asserts that congress will regulate commerce, and this also includes trademarks. As per the Lanham Act, a trademark can be used in commerce, or you need to have good intentions to use the trademark in commerce.

• Distinctive

A trademark helps to distinguish a company’s goods from another. If you want to be identifiable, your trademark needs to be unique.

There are three categories of distinctiveness, they are:

1. Arbitrary, fanciful, or suggestive- if a mark is one of the three categories, it will be inherently distinctive. The individual who applies first or uses the mark will get the trademark.
2. Generic- the generic marks cannot be trademarked. The item needs to be unique to receive a trademark. You can consult online trademark attorneys to know what marks can be trademarked.
3. Descriptive- you can trademark a descriptive mark if it has taken on another meaning. For a name or a geographical term to be trademarked, they must fall within this category.

What Can Be Trademarked?

If there is a mark that is in use and distinctive, it can be trademarked. But you will not trademark generic items; you need something unique.Have you ever found a unique name, phrase or design that captures the essence of your business? This is known as a trademark. The purpose of a trademark is to help consumers identify you as the source of particular goods or services. It also distinguishes you from other businesses.

What Cannot Be Trademarked?

The USPTO receives every mark that is contained in a trademark application. If a mark falls in any category below, it may not receive a trademark. The following marks are not going to be trademarked by the USPTO:

• The name of a living person unless that individual has offered consent.
• Confusingly similar marks
• A coat of arms or a government flag
• Federal or local government insignias
• A name or image of a deceased president of the United States until consent is provided by their widows.
• A descriptive or misdescriptive mark
• Words or symbols downgrading institutions, beliefs, national symbols, or a living/deceased individual.

A trademark application might even be denied if marks are deceptive, scandalous, or immoral. To get a federal trademark for your product, you need to sell your product in more than a single state.A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods. Some examples include: brand names, slogans, and logos. The term “trademark” is often used in a general sense to refer to both trademarks and service marks.

Final Words

If you want to trademark a product of your business or organization, you must ensure that the mark is unique. If you are unsure about what can be trademarked, you can hire the services of online trademark attorneys. They can help you trademark your product and offer you valuable guidance on how to trademark anything you want.