Intellectual Property Law Explained - What is Trademark? | Lex Animata

What is Trademark law? By Hesham Elrafei https://www.linkedin.com/in/heshamelr... Trademarks are brand names or designs , which are applied to products and services. A trademark is a distinguished word, phrase , a symbol , a fragrance or a logo , or a combination of these elements. which is used in trade/business , to indicate the origin/source of the brand, in order to distinguish and identify the brand owner in the market. Trademark law protects the consumer, by preventing the public confusion , as to the origin or quality of a product. and it also reward the brand owner , by maintaining his business successful reputation in the market. Trademarks legally conflict with each other, if the use of one trademark causes public confusion as to the product being offered in the market ( likelihood of confusion ) The american law protects trademarks even if its not registered, which is also known as the Common Law Trademark Rights, in this case registration is not required to establish trademark rights, seeing that the first who use a trademark in commerce owns it. On the other hand, Most countries require registration of a trademark , as it provides legal certainty and reinforces the position of the right holder . therefore any subsequent users who cause confusion as to the product or its origin , will be forced to stop using the mark , and might be liable to pay the trademark owner damages. Lastly, Trademark is not absolute as its subject to various limits and defenses, such as abandonment, limitations on geographic area in which the mark is used , and fair use , which means that the more common and generic the word is , the less likely the trademark owner may be able to regulate it. This doctrine also protects "nominative" use of the trademark name, as is often done by competitors in marketing materials.