A Guide to Proper Trademark Use

For Media, Internet, and Publishing Professionals

What is a trademark?

A trademark is any word, name, symbol or device

(or any combination thereof) that identies and

distinguishes the source of the goods of one party

from those of others. Similarly, a service mark is

any word, name, symbol or device (or any combi-

nation thereof) that identies and distinguishes

the services of one party from those of others.

Trademarks and service marks (“mark” or

“marks”) are important and valuable assets for

both businesses and consumers. A distinctive

mark allows a business to build public goodwill

and brand reputation in the goods or services

it sells. Marks also help consumers identify the

source of goods and services and make informed

choices based on their experiences.

Trade names are not the same as trademarks or

service marks. Although many companies use

trade names as their marks, trade names are

corporate or business names.

The International Trademark Association (INTA)

has developed this guide to provide you with a few

easy-to-follow rules concerning proper mark use.

When referring to a mark, make sure you pass the

“ACID” test of proper use:

djective

onsistent

dentication or Status

istinctive

djective

Trademarks and service marks are proper

adjectives. Not nouns. Not verbs. A mark should

always be used as an adjective qualifying a ge-

neric noun that denes the product or service. A

mark is a company brand name, not a product or

service itself. As adjectives, marks should not be

used as plurals or in the possessive form, unless

the mark itself is plural or possessive (such as

1-800-FLOWERS, MCDONALD’S or LEVI’S).

Examples

Correct:

Use a XEROX brand copier

Please hand me a KLEENEX tissue

Incorrect:

XEROX these copies

a ve-KLEENEX movie

Correct:

Send the packages via FEDEX courier

Send the packages via EXPRESS MAIL service

I had four STARBUCKS lattes

Put on your RAY-BAN sunglasses

Incorrect:

Send the FEDEXs

Send it EXPRESS MAIL

I drank four STARBUCKS

Put on your RAY-BANS

Are these important distinctions? Yes. Think of

the following: Elevator. Kerosene. Corn Flakes.

Yo-Yo.

Each of these well-known product names was

once a famous trademark with rights exclusively

owned by a company. Today, due to misuse of

the marks, they are merely generic product

names in some jurisdictions with no accompany-

ing trademark/service mark rights. These “ghost-

marks” serve as historic and costly reminders of

what can happen to marks if the public comes to

regard a brand name as the generic name of a

product.

In this context, please note another important

distinction—trade names are proper nouns,

not adjectives. Consequently, trade names can

be used in the possessive form (for example,

“Reebok’s newest line of athletic shoes is for

children”) and need not be followed by generic

nouns that dene a product or service (for exam-

ple, “These athletic shoes are made by Reebok”).

onsistent

Businesses use many styles to represent their

marks. Thus, it is important that your references

to a particular mark are accurate and consis-

tent, i.e., the mark should be represented the

same way each time. For example, if a mark

is represented in all capital letters, you should

consistently use all capital letters when refer-

encing that mark. This has the desired effect of

emphasizing that the term is indeed a trademark

or service mark, not merely another word in the

text.

dentication or Status

To consistently identify trademarks and ser-

vice marks, a (mostly) international system of

demarcation or trademark notices has been

established.

In most countries, the

symbol is recognized

as identifying an unregistered trademark. The

symbol is used to identify an unregistered

service mark (a mark used in connection with a

company’s services rather than with goods). Al-

though these symbols have no legal signicance,

their use does have the preventative effect of

indicating possible claims to trademark rights in

the designations with which they are used.

Most countries have also adopted the ® symbol

to identify a registered trademark or service

mark. Other proper forms of notice for registered

trademarks in the U.S. include: “Registered

in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofce” and

“Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.” Certain countries

have other symbols and designations, including

“Marca Registrada” or “MR” in some countries

where Spanish is the dominant language, and

“Marque Déposée,” “Marque de Commerce,”

or their abbreviations, “MD” and “MC,” in some

countries where French is the dominant lan-

guage. Demarcation practices vary from country

to country and, logically, marking should be in

the local language(s) or otherwise meaningful

to your readers and/or the people in the country

in which the products or services are advertised

and sold.

Generally, demarcation is not necessary for every

occurrence of a trademark or service mark in

an article, press release, advertisement or on a

website, etc; however, at a minimum, this identi-

cation should occur at least once in each piece,

either the rst time the mark is used or with the

most prominent use of the mark. When in doubt,

err on the side of “over-marking.”

® SM

istinctive

Trademarks and service marks should be dis-

played in a different font or manner to distin-

guish them from surrounding text. In running

text, for example, trademarks are often distin-

guished by using all capital letters or italics. In

addition, the generic noun that identies the

product or service should be used immediately

after the trademark name at least once in each

separate written or broadcast communication, or

on each website, preferably the rst time that the

trademark appears in the material. Additional

emphasis can be given to trademarks by using

the word “brand” after the mark or by using one

of the acceptable symbols that indicate trade-

mark status, as mentioned in the “Identication”

section above.

Examples:

KLEENEX tissues

Canon

cameras

Scotch brand transparent tape

Callaway golf clubs

About INTA

The International Trademark Association (INTA)

is a global association of brand owners and

professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks

and related intellectual property (IP) to foster

consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation.

Members include more than 7,200 trademark

owners, professionals, and academics from 187

countries, who benefit from the Association’s

global trademark resources, policy development,

education and training, and international network.

Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New

York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago,

Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and

representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. For

more information, visit inta.org.

INTA Resources

Available online, free of charge

Fact Sheets—get quick, clear answers to your

questions about trademarks.

International Trademark Association

675 Third Avenue, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10017, USA

t: +1-212-642

-1700 | F: +1-212-768-7796

inta.org