Eli5. What is the differbetween trademark and registered trademark?
In: 26
A Trademark is any kind of mark that a business is using in the business of selling things. There’s also Servicemark, which is roughly the same as a Trademark but for a service.
A Registered Trademark is a trademark that has been registered with, in the USA at least, the US Patent and Trademark Office, which has a fee associated with it, it helps make the trademark more enforceable. And means they can use the ® on their trademark instead of just ™
Anyone can essentially make a Trademark if they use it in business and defend it.
US-specific answer: You gain automatic common law trademark rights to your novel brand name or logo just by using it, and if some copycat springs up, you can sue in state courts, though you will need to establish to the court that you are the rightful trademark owner. A registered trademark is literally registered with the federal government. There is a process to affirmatively determine that it actually can be registered and that you are the rightful owner (that is, nobody else has already been using it). This is much stronger legal protection and you can sue for infringement in federal court. Registering takes time and money though, so you’ll often see a new brand with ™ while they await approval for the ®.
Trademark: You assert that some word, jingle, logo, or other brand-related media is uniquely yours, and if someone else uses it you will sue them for infringement. You will lose if they can successfully argue the piece of media isn’t UNIQUELY yours.
Registered Trademark: You paid the government to investigate your claim that the piece of media is uniquely yours. They agreed. Now if someone infringes, it is VERY HARD for them to win because you have the government backing your claim up.
A trademark is a distinct symbol (often a word or phrase) identifying goods or services as originating from a specific vendor.
A registered trademark is a trademark which has been registered with a government office such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office for additional legal protections.
Latest Answers