What Can Be Trademarked| Trademark

Registration & Trademark Search in India

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T rademark can be a word, a phrase, a sound, a symbol, a picture, or a
combination of these, that is used to differentiate the product/service of
one business from the products/services of other businesses. Trademarks
have a 10-year protection span.
Suppose business is growing and the quality of the products/services has already
given the business an edge over the competition; but how do you maintain the
integrity of your brand, and keep the business growing?
If you’ve considered registering for a trademark, you’re on the right track. But, do
you know what exactly can be trademarked?

Read the article to know what all can be trademarked.

Color, Hairstyle and Joke
A color can be trademarked provided that it plays an important part of the
product or service’s brand identity. Trademarking a color simply allows a company
to use a particular combination and shade of color in its own industry.
For instance, John Deere Company’s leaping deer symbol and green and yellow
color scheme have become synonymous with outdoor power equipment.
The company owns the rights to the symbol and colour, prohibiting any such
machinery maker from using them.
Whereas, one cannot trademark the specific design of a hairstyle. However, a
name, logo, or slogan that is used to promote a particular hairstyling services can
be trademarked.
A logo that contains an image of the hairstyle can be trademarked; but it will not
protect the hairstyle from imitation, it will only protect against rivals using a
similar logo to sell similar type of products/services.
In case of Joke, a joke can be trademarked if it is used as a brand name or slogan.
To trademark a joke, the joke should have an association with the products or
services. It is also important to demonstrate that the joke is distinct enough to
qualify for a trademark.

Uniform
One cannot trademark a uniform. The uniqueness of a uniform is in the shape and
design. These are aspects that cannot be trademarked. However, specific design
features of the uniform can be trademarked, provided that it is distinct enough to
deserve that protection. Any logos or slogans associated with the company can be
trademarked and then placed on the uniform, but that will not protect the whole
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of the uniform. That logo should have to serve as a central part of identification
for the company to consumers, in order to qualify for the protection of a
trademark.

Initials
Initials can be trademarked so long as they are being utilized to distinguish the
goods/services from another company’s goods/services. Initials are known for
being one of the earliest trademarks and they survive to this day. In the earlier
days, smiths would mark their goods with their initials to identify the
manufacturer of the object. These marks also served as approval for the quality of
the goods.
By trademarking the initials, the competitors can be prevented from using the
same initials to identify the owner of goods/services. This protection will only
cover a particular industry and will not prevent someone from using the same
initials to mark a product of some other industry.

Sound
Sometimes, the sound that plays in the advertisement becomes so well known
that when people hear it they immediately know what product/service it refers
to. In such cases the sound may be regarded as a trademark and is eligible for
registration.
A sound mark is a trademark where a particular sound does the function of
uniquely identifying the origin of a product or a service. In the case of sound
marks, a certain sound is associated with a company or its product or services –
for example, the MGM’s roar of a lion.
The sound logo, technically referred to as audio mnemonic, is one of the tools of
sound branding, along with the brand music. A sound logo is a short
distinctive melody mostly positioned at the beginning or ending of a commercial.
It can be seen as the acoustic equivalent of a visual logo. Often a combination of
both types of logo is used to enforce the recognition of a brand.

Image
If one wishes to use an image in the active branding, it is suggestive that the
image be trademarked. For example, Nike’s famous “swoosh” logo. To trademark
an image, it is important to contact an attorney to get trademark clearance, which

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is a permission needed to be obtained to register a trademark after completing an
extensive trademark search.
In this search possible exact matches of the image you wish to trademark are
found out. If such an image is found, the image to be trademarked will not be
eligible for the registration, as it could lead to confusion among consumers.

Book Title
The title of a single creative work cannot be trademarked. For example, if one
writes one, individual book entitled “I LOVE MY COUNTRY,” it is not possible to
trademark this title.
However, one can trademark a book title if a series of books are written using
that title. In the example above, the name “I LOVE MY COUNTRY” can be
trademarked if one wrote more than one book with that title, since it would no
longer be considered a “single” creative work. This is how book titles like “HARRY
POTTER” are able to apply for trademarks.

Below are some examples of each type:

1. Word (Maggie, Bournvita)
The word mark is a type of trademark, which is represented in word format
without any graphical representation. It mainly refers to the brand name.

2. Name (Louis Vuitton, Gucci)

Anyone whose name also identifies their business or profession consider
trademarking their actual name. That name that identifies a business/profession.
This is common among fashion designers. For example, designers like Louis
Vuitton and Gucci trademarked their names as their brand names.

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3. Surname (TATA, BATA)
Starting of a business in the name of surname or personal name is a common
concept in India. Many people have been using their surname with their business
to associate their identity with it. But as the plurality of same
surname are increasing the association has lost its purpose and often leads to
confusion. One may register it, but cannot claim exclusive right over the mark and
stop others from using it, which is the ultimate purpose of registration of a
trademark.

4. Letters
Set of letters can be registered for trademark, and indeed comprise the most
common form of trademark.

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5. Numeral
Like other types of trademarks, numerals can also be registered for trademark for
a particular brand or company. However numerals devoid of any distinctive
character are not registrable.

6. Symbol
The symbols which act as trademarks for some companies have a history behind
them. They represent the work of the company and give brand value and identity
to it.

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When the brand gets popularity, the symbol become synonymous with the
company. People start recognizing the product/service without the name written
under them because of the distinctiveness they acquire over the years with their
usage.

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