Trademark registration -- Not a substitute for choosing a good mark

     A trademark (or service mark) is not just the name of a product. It is the nickname of the source company when used with that particular product. A trademark tells customers the quality of the product (from the quality of the source company) they can expect by simply seeing (or hearing, smelling) the mark. it is a powerful 24/7 salesperson.

     Therefore, most companies don't want to use the marks already used by their competitors, and don't want their competitors to use the same (or similar) marks for competing products. (For example, earlier this year Cisco sued Apple to stop it from using its iPhone trademark. See here.) Registering a trademark is becoming a popular way to achieve these goals. The number of federal trademark applications has indeed steadily increased in the past several years. (See chart by clicking on thumbnail.)

     The best way to protect a trademark, however, is not trademark registration, but to choose a good/distinctive mark to begin with. A good mark stands out from the crowd. It reduces the chances that the mark will be confused with other existing marks. It also reduces the chances that other companies in the future might innocently use similar marks for their own competing products.

     A good mark can also allow a company to begin marketing a new product even before its trademark is registered. It takes on average more than one year to register a federal trademark. (See table.) Very often, companies cannot afford to wait that long to market a new product, if only to make sure that the product's trademark can be protected. Choosing a good trademark from the get-go will allow the company to market the product timely, without taking big risks.

     Trademarks are generally categorized into 5 classes, with descending quality: Fanciful, Arbitrary, Suggestive, Descriptive, & Generic. (See here for more info.) Choose a fanciful or arbitrary mark to avoid stepping on other existing trademarks and to prevent others from innocently stepping on yours. Then, get register the trademark to officially announce your mark and to fend off others intentionally attempting to palm off your good name. That would be my best strategy.