Trademarks

The trademark is a corporately created mark of distinction enabling goods and services from two or more producers or suppliers to be distinguished from another. The most important function of a trademark is to tell consumers the source of the offering and to keep them from being misled in this area. A trademark promises that the product or offering will be of unvarying quality. It thus helps consumers to decide what goods or services to purchase.

The trademark also enables the company to distinguish itself from its competitors. From the legal point of view, a trademark right is limited to a territory. By registering a trademark, the company secures protection against the copying of the proprietary products or offerings. To ward off unintended breaches, the trademark has to be registered.

Trademarks can take a variety of forms. There are word, figurative (pictorial), combined word and figurative, three-dimensional, color and sound marks or combination of them. Typical examples of trademarks are company names, corporate logos, three-dimensional logos, product designations and signature tunes.