Selecting a trademark?
Generally, fanciful and arbitrary marks are met with the least resistance by the USPTO. A fanciful mark, or coined word, does not have any specific meaning nor can in anyway be related to the goods or services it is associated with. It is formed with the sole purpose of being used as a trademark. Coined or fanciful marks are the easiest to register and also offer the best protection to the owner as it will be very difficult for the infringer to offer a logical explanation for the misuse. Further, arbitrary marks include a meaningful word, but will not have any relation to the product or service that it is associated with.
by Jason C. Kravitz and Nicholas G. Papastavros 4/1/1999 As companies become more aware of the value of their intellectual property (such as patents and trademarks), they are better able to appreciate the value of seeking legal counsel to help protect these intangible assets from would-be infringers. While companies seldom, if ever, obtain patents without the aid of legal counsel, many are more skeptical about the need for legal counsel to protect their trademark rights, particularly since companies need do nothing more than use a trademark in interstate commerce to be entitled to common law trademark protection. Why, then, should a company consult an attorney before choosing a mark to identify and distinguish its widgets? Among the obvious reasons are that (1) attorneys are skilled at searching various databases and conducting research to help ensure that the mark selected does not subject the company to an infringement lawsuit, and (2) attorneys can assist the company in obtaining th
