What does a trademark protect?

14th Nov 2009 by Tobias John Sterling

A trademark is not the name given to the protection of a certain kind of intellectual property, but rather to the thing protected (contrast this with patents, where a patent is the name given to the protection of an invention). As such, there's no meaningful answer to the question 'what does a trademark protect'. However, having and lawfully using a trademark automatically means that you have a right to stop others from using your trademark. And what is a trademark? A trademark is something in the manner of a word, phrase, name, image, symbol, logo or design that identifies the products or services of one entity and distinguishes them from the products or services of another entity. Classic examples would be the name 'Coca-Cola' or McDonald's 'Golden Arches'. If the owner of a trademark finds out that another entity is using their trademark without authorization, they can commence civil legal proceedings to stop the second entity from continuing to do so.

This answer is the subjective opinion of the writer and not of FinancialAdvisory.com