Most marketing professionals are familiar with the term trademark; but if asked, a lot of them would not be able to accurately tell you what one is. To put it in very simple terms, trademarks are brand names, and they are a major part of our lives as marketers. Not just because we oversee the brand names with which we work, but because during the average day we see and hear more than 1,500 trademarks.

In a competitive market that is continually becoming more crowded, trademarks are an important intellectual property asset for any business. To protect them, it is important to understand proper trademark usage when you are developing marketing materials. Here’s what you need to know.

A trademark is any word, name, symbol, slogan or design that identifies the source of goods, and distinguishes them from other goods. Trademarks have three main functions. They:

• Identify the origin of a product and differentiate it from competitors.

• Serve as a symbol of quality and consistency that consumers rely on to make buying decisions.

• Create an image to help maintain product demand.

Some examples of trademarks include:

• Words (JAVA)

• Designs (NFL football logo)

• Slogans ("Just Do It")

• Shapes (COCA-COLA bottle)

Correctly writing your brand names along with their registration symbols is essential to creating strong brand identities. The three most common trademark symbols you see are: Ò , Ô and ^sm. The symbol ^Ò (DiscoverÒ ) means that the mark, or brand name, is federally registered.

The marks Ô (PageBreaksÔ ) and ^sm (Global Rewards Program^sm) are often used for brand names and services that are not federally registered. These two symbols are informal notices that a term is being used as a trademark. Often, terms with these marks are in the process of becoming federally registered marks.

Inappropriate or nonuse of your trademarks can result in product names becoming generic industry terms that can be used by anyone, in any manner they wish. Should this happen to your registered brand name, it can greatly devalue your product, demean its image and decrease its demand.

You will probably be surprised to learn about many everyday generic terms that use to be registered trademarks. Examples of registered product brand names that became generic terms over the years include escalator, aspirin, kerosene, linoleum, dry ice, cellophane and corn flakes. These former trademarks all became everyday generic terms as a result of improper or careless use by their owners.

To protect your registered brand names, it’s important to understand how you can lose rights to a trademark. The following are the most common examples.

• Failure to use the mark. Continued use is crucial to trademarks rights in the U.S. Failure to use a mark is considered abandonment of the mark.

• Failure to prosecute infringers. Trademark rights may be lost if the owner fails to take legal action against those undertaking unauthorized use of the mark.

• Changing the quality of goods. A substantial change in the quality of goods can result in an abandonment of the mark.

• Improper licensing. If a trademark is licensed to others without controlling how the licensee uses the mark, your trademark may come to be considered abandoned.

Here are some important guidelines for protecting your company’s trademarks in print.

Make sure the proper trademark notice follows your brand name.

Example: PAGEBREAKSÒ newsletter.

Present your trademarks in a distinctive manner. Capitalize your brand name in bold print to set it apart from other words in a sentence. Example:

• The extra pages were duplicated on a XEROXÒ copier.

Write your trademark in a grammatically correct manner. Trademarks are proper adjectives, not nouns. Therefore, your brand name should always be followed by the generic term for that product type. Example:

• (Correct) Your patients deserve a MEMORYLENSÒ intraocular lens for their eye.

• (Incorrect) Give your patients a MEMORYLENSÒ .

• (Correct) At your next party, serve everyone COKEÒ soft drinks.

• (Incorrect) At your next party, serve everyone COKEs.

• (Correct) The MICROSOFTÒ image is important to Bill Gates.

• (Incorrect) MICROSOFT’s image is important to Bill Gates.

• (Correct) We made a copy on the XEROXÒ copier.

• (Incorrect) Please go XEROXÒ the report.

Following the simple rules I’ve outlined for protecting your trademarks will help you make fast friends in your legal department, and prevent your company’s brand names from becoming generic terms. For more comprehensive information about trademarks and their proper use, contact the International Trademark Association.

Casey Demchak is an independent copywriter and consultant who specializes in writing compelling B2B sales copy for the medical industry. He is also the author of the book, Essential Sales Writing Secrets. He can be reached at casey@caseydemchak.com; or at (303) 697-4793.

© Copyright 2008 Casey Demchak. All rights reserved.

Casey Demchak
Copywriter & Consultant
10437 W. Hampden Ave. #202
Lakewood, CO 80227
(303) 697-4793

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