What types of marks are the most easily protected?
Marks that are distinctive and memorable because they are creative or out of the ordinary or because they are well known through their use over time. Unique logos, such as McDonald’s, or made-up words such as Exxon, or words that invoke imaginative images, such as Double Rainbow, or words that cleverly connote qualities about the product or services, such as Slenderella diet foods. Marks that consist of common or ordinary words are not considered inherently distinctive and receive less protection. Examples of these types are people’s names, such as Joe’s Coffee House, or geographic terms, such as Arizona Insect Control, or descriptive terms, such as Ice Cold Ice Cream.
