Can someone explain this to me? What does this mean?

Question

I want to know what trademark/s mean? Does this mean that any words or phrases that are trademarked can not be used for ANY purpose, whether on the net or otherwise? Some are very common phrases.

Here is the wording on a corporate website: The trademarks, logos and service marks ("Marks") displayed on the Site are the property of ...(name deleted)... and other parties. Users are prohibited from using any Marks for any purpose including, but not limited to use as metatags on other pages or sites on the World Wide Web without the written permission of ...(name deleted)... or such third party which may own the Marks. All information and content including any software programs available on or through the Site ("Content") is protected by copyright. Users are prohibited from modifying, copying, distributing, transmitting, displaying, publishing, selling, licensing, creating derivative works or using any Content available on or through the Site for commercial or public purpose

Thank you for your answers.

I do understand that if a word or phrase is trademarked that it can not be use. I may not have stated my question very well, but my concern are with the simple, very common phrases.

Example: "Travel and Leisure" or "Food and Wine"

These are two phrases that this company is claiming they have trademarked. How is something that is so widely used and of such a common nature that it can be trademarked? Which brings me to the question, are there any phrases or combination of words that are not trademarked? If these two examples are any indication, I would think not.

Answer 1

Trademarks are for specific words or designs in connection with a particular product or service. For instance, your example of "Travel and Leisure" -- it's not the words themselves that are trademarked across the board but what these words are used in connection with, i.e. the types of products and/or services. So "Travel and Leisure" could have a trademark, for instance, for a magazine title in the field of travel related topics. If this is the example you're talking about, then you're talking about a famous, well-established brand.

For instance, Nike ® is famous trademark for clothing, shoes & retail services. That does NOT mean that you could open a restaurant called Nike, simply for the fact that when the general public hears the word Nike ®, they automatically assume it's the shoemaker. In essence, your restaurant could be accused of diluting Nike's ® famous trademark.

There are plenty of names that are NOT trademarked; however, the only way to really be sure is to have comprehensive research conducted. This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.

Lastly, words that are descriptive or generic (such as your examples) are typically NOT allowed to be registered as trademarks. The entire point of a trademark is to have exclusive rights to a name, logo, etc. within a particular industry. So, I could not open a shoe store called The Shoe Store and expect to get a trademark on it. Of course, like with all areas of law, there's going to be exceptions.

For instance, say you've been using a generic or descriptive name within your industry for at least 5 years -- you may be able to petition to the USPTO that you have created a distinctive name just through use alone.

Unfortunately, there's no black & white concrete answers when it comes to trademark law -- it's always gray!

I hope I've assisted you some with this matter!

Answer 2

The below link has everthing you need to know about trademarks.
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/

[quote]What is a trademark or service mark?

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.
Do Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents protect the same things?

No. Trademarks, copyrights and patents all differ. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention. For copyright information, go to http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/. For patent information, go to http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm.

[/quote]

Answer 3

Coke® and Coca-Cola® are trademarks. Only the Coca-Cola company, the owner of the trademark, can use it for any product. Nike's "Swoosh" is also a trademark.

I can make reference to a trademark as I have done above. I just can't adopt someone else's trademark for my products or services.

Answer 4

It means that the Trademark or logo is registered to that company and you cant use it for any purpose without their consent. Example you can have a clown at your burger hut but it cant be named ronald macdonald. You can have use a picture of the logo in a project for school or like that, but not if it allows you to profit from its use. Try wikipedia for a complete explanation

Answer 5

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