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Trademarks and Service Marks indicate the source of goods and services. Trademarks and Service Marks are generally associated with the good will buyers have toward a seller. Thus, buyers may tend to purchase Coca-Cola products because they have historically enjoyed products that include the Coca-Cola trademark.
Trademarks and Service Marks (referred to collectively as “Trademarks”) are protected by common law upon use and may be registered in individual states or with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Registration in the United States Patent and Trademark Office provides benefits including rights that extend throughout the United States and generally requires a fairly modest fee and time commitment, so that most people who are committing any significant time or money in promoting their trademark or service mark register their marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
People and companies frequently attempt to use trademarks improperly. For example, if a trademark is used in a sentence in place of a noun, that usage is improper because the trademark does not represent the thing, it represents the source of the thing. Worse, if a trademark becomes recognized as the name of a thing (such as an elevator or an escalator) then the mark ceases to function as a trademark and becomes the generic name of the thing. While issues with trademarks are far fewer than with patents, if you are unsure about the technicalities of trademarks you may benefit from brief consultation with a trademark attorney.
Trademark applications are frequently rejected and require one or more responsive amendments and/or arguments. So it is well to be prepared for likely rejections before filing to minimize the issues raised in a rejection.
TM versus ®
When an unregistered trademark is used in marketing material or the like, the trademark may be followed by TM to indicate it is being used as a trademark. It is improper for any mark that has not completed the federal registration process to be accompanied by the ®.
