A trademark (or service mark) is something (really, anything) that helps your customers find you for what you sell. It helps them refer you to their friends so they find you, too. That means it has be able to be remembered and identified later as that. The fancy term is that it is “an indicator of source.” I know that that thing bearing that trademark came from the same people who made the last thing that I saw bearing that trademark.
So what is not a trademark? A decoration on the front of a t-shirt – even if it is really cool. What you have is a really cool t-shirt design, not a trademark.
It is also not a description of what you do or who your target client is. Many people come to us with a phrase they use a lot while they are providing their wares (often services). But if you are using it more as description of how you do your work – or who it is that needs your services – than as an indication of who they are getting the services from, then it isn’t a trademark. Let’s explore with this pretend podcast and description:
- DripDrop is a podcast for Cave Dwellers (or wannabes) who understand the Power Of Water and the Pull Of The Dark for meditation and calm.
Someone might come to us asking for a trademark registration for CAVE DWELLERS, POWER OF WATER, and PULL OF DARKNESS. They use those phrases all the time. People connect to them and say “hey, that’s me!” That is great for target customers to help identify themselves, but it doesn’t work as a trademark because it doesn’t help them recognize who the podcast is from. A trademark uses the term to designate the source of the service. DRIPDROP does that. That is the trademark here.
The other three are descriptions of who they want to listen (or buy), but how are they going to refer the podcast to others? How will those others know they found the correct source of meditation based on water sounds and darkness? By remembering DRIPDROP. If we want CAVE DWELLER to be a trademark, then we have to use it in such a way to bring the provider or our products to mind, not the customer. “Welcome to DRIPDROP! If you like what you hear, you will love our CAVE DWELLER line of meditation prompts. Don’t forget our POWER OF WATER soundtracks and PULL OF THE DARK sleep masks.”
See the difference?
The marks become an indicator of a name of a program, the source of information, a specific thing to purchase, not just a way of people to recognize they are someone who needs what the company is providing. And maybe even a cool t-shirt.