Trademark LicensingA trademark is a word, slogan, symbol, design, or combination of these elements, which identifies and distinguishes the goods or services of one party from others. The word trademark or trademark law is frequently used generically to encompass similar identifiers of origin such as service marks, collective marks, certification marks, trade dress, and trade name. Trademarks are identifiers of commercial products or services; business names, or trade names, identify a business for non-marketing purposes; and copyrights protect individual, original works of expression. Proper use of the trademark by the owner is important to its protection. The quality of the goods and services must be maintained for consumer confidence and for strengthening the trademark. The owner should not weaken its own trademarks by using many alterations and blurring its distinctiveness. The more distinctive, the stronger the mark. The trademark owner can create a family of marks which keeps certain elements common among them. If these common elements become recognizable by the public as trademarks of the owner, than it is possible for the owner to have broader protection for other marks that incorporate these same common elements. The non-marketing uses of trade names include uses on stock certificates, bank accounts, invoices, letterhead, contracts, i.e. uses which identify the entity. Trade names can also be trademarks when used to identify specific goods and services. The primary purpose of the trademark laws is to prevent unfair competition by applying a test of consumer confusion and providing rights and remedies to the owner of the trademark. Copyrights do not generally protect individual words or slogans but will protect creative designs. Therefore, a logo design could be protected by both copyright law and trademark law. | |
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