Selecting a Mark

When selecting the right name for your business, product or service, it is important to consider that name within the context to which it will be applied. You cannot legally own the name "Apple" if you sell apples - that's the generic, everyday word for that product - although it is a very strong trademark as a name for computers!

Proposed marks that are "confusingly similar" to another trademark for similar goods or services cannot be protected by trademark law. For example, you cannot use "Appel" for computers because it is confusingly similar to "Apple" computer.

If your proposed name is a word or phrase that others would likely use to describe their products or services, it is probably a weak mark. Even if the mark indicates the source of the goods and is used as a trademark, the law will allow others to use it in its descriptive, non-trademark way. For example, even if there is a "Fast Cycle" brand on the market, any bicycle manufacturer would still be able to describe their "fast cycle" when describing their product.

For suggestive, arbitrary and fanciful marks there is no reason for anyone to use a mark that has been appropriated as a trademark. There is no competitive need and any such use would be an infringement of the trademark owner's rights. That's why these are considered the strongest marks.

When selecting a mark, consider also:

• How it looks when written.
• How it sounds when spoken.
• What it means.

You should also keep several alternatives in mind - just in case your proposed mark is not available.

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