A trademark identifies and distinguishes the source of a person’s or a
company’s products from those of another entity. A trademark can include any word, name,
symbol (such as a logo), device, sound, color, form or pattern, or any
combination thereof, used, or intended to be used, in commerce in the United
States.
A service mark is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination
thereof, used, or intended to be used, in commerce in the United States, to
identify and distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by
others, and to indicate the source of the services. A service mark is similar to a trademark
except that the source is a service rather than a product.
United States trademark law accords the holder of a
United States trademark various rights including:
- The possibility of
obtaining lost profits, damages and costs, as well as triple damages in certain
cases, if an infringement is proven to exist;
- The possibility
of recovering attorney fees for infringement proceedings from the infringing
party;
- The possibility
of declaring a trademark to be “incontestable” after five consecutive years of
continuous use following registration of the trademark. Incontestability eliminates most third party
arguments that a trademark owner does not have the exclusive rights to use the
trademark;
- The right to use
the "®" symbol in connection with the trademark. The "®" symbol is intended to deter potential infringers;
- Simplified trademark
search abilities for third parties. The searching
facilitation would discourage good-faith third parties from attempting to
register or using a similarly confusing trademark;
- The right to sue
for trademark infringement before a United States Federal Court; and
- The possibility having
the United States Customs & Border Protection (the CBP) block the
importation of goods which infringe a registered trademark and to register the
mark with the CBP.