Weak Verse Strong Trademarks

Written By Felicia Altman

One of the most misunderstood parts of brand protection is the strength of a trademark. When launching a new product, rebranding or evaluating your IP Portfolio, knowing how strong or weak your trademark is and how to asses the strength is essential to protecting your business and brand.

 What Makes a Trademark Strong?

1. A Strong Trademark is:

  • Distinctive

  • Easily Protectable

  • Less Likely to Face Objection 

Key Tip: When filing your trademark be sure it meets the following standards:

  • Come up with a unique name unrelated to the goods or services being protected

  • Ensure there are no preexisting marks with similar names  

2. What are some types of strong trademarks?

  • Marks that are completely made-up words or phrases

  • Real words used in completely unrelated contexts (ex: Apple for Computers)  

Key Tip:  When creating a trademark think of fanciful and arbitrary words. 

What Makes a Trademark Weak?

3. A weak trademark:

  • Describes the products

  • Lacks distinctiveness 

Key Tip:  When filing a trademark make sure it is not descriptive or generic. A descriptive mark describes a characteristic of the mark and is likely to be refused by the USPTO. A generic term is not registerable under trademark law.  

4. Tips for Choosing a Strong Mark:

  • Create unexpected word combinations

  • Do a clearance search 

  • Consider how the mark will sound, look and be interpreted 

  • Avoid common words and phrases 

In recent years the USPTO has rejected over 36% of trademark applications due to likelihood of confusion with already registered trademarks or the mark being merely descriptive. A strong mark upfront will avoid these possible office actions and need for rebranding.

Make Your Trademark specializes in helping brands build trademark portfolios.

Felicia Altman
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International Trademarks: Why Should I File Internationally?