Trademarks 101 · Strong and weak trademarks
A strong trademark says less about the product.
Marks sit on a scale from invented words to plain descriptions. The further toward invented, the easier it is to register and the more ground it covers.
If you read nothing else
- Why it matters
- A strong mark registers more easily, draws fewer refusals, and is easier to enforce against people who come too close.
- The trade-off
- Descriptive names are often easier to market because they explain themselves. However, that same quality is what makes them harder to own.
- The test
- Not whether the word is clever, but what it means for these particular goods or services. For example, “APPLE” is arbitrary for computers and generic for apples.
- Can a weak mark get stronger?
- A descriptive one can, through years of use that teach buyers to see it as your name. A generic one never can.
Search the federal register
Type your mark and we’ll show you what’s on the federal register close to it: the same search our attorneys start with. Add a class if you know it, and we’ll put those matches first.
Heads up: we’re still setting this search up, so things might be a little wonky for a few days. If a search doesn’t come back or if something seems off, try again in a minute, or have an attorney look now.
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Strongest to weakest
Strong
These register most easily and offer the broadest protections.
- Fanciful: an invented word, like “KODAK”
- Arbitrary: a real word but one with no link to the product, like “APPLE” for computers
- Suggestive: hints at the product and makes you think, like “COPPERTONE” for sunscreen
Weak
These are often refused, or protect only narrowly.
- Descriptive: says what it is or does, like “CREAMY” for yogurt
- Generic: the name of the thing itself, like “BICYCLE” for bicycles
- Descriptive marks can register after years of use and with evidence; generic ones simply can never register
Before you commit to a name
Say what it means
Read the name next to the product. If it simply describes it, it’s safe to say that you can expect a fight.
Search it
A knockout search tells you whether it’s obviously taken. A full search looks past the register into state and industry databases.
Talk it through
We’ll tell you where on the scale it sits, and whether any small changes could change that.
Read next
Or see every Trademarks 101 sheet.
This sheet is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Talk to us about yours.