Trademarks are of various kinds like product mark, collective mark, certificate mark, service mark, sound mark, pattern mark, etc. There are many forms of trademarks, but the purpose of all the trademarks is the same, i.e. to enable the consumers to identify the goods and services of a manufacturer from that of their competitors. The trademarks are of following types:-

• Product mark

A product mark is a mark which is used only on goods or some products and not on any services. Trademark registrations under trademark class 1 to 34 are termed as product mark. Product marks are used to identify the source of the product.

• Service mark

A service mark is a mark which is used only for services and not for any goods or products. Trademark registrations under trademark class 35 to 45 are termed as service mark. Service mark represents the services provided by the proprietor.

• Collective mark

Collective trademarks are used by a group of companies and are protected by group collectively. Generally collective marks are used to inform the public about a particular characteristic of a product for which the mark is used.

• Generic mark

Generic mark represents the description of a product and its seller. Generic marks are common words such as “shoes”, “watches”, “food”, etc. A generic mark does not get trademark registration easily.

• Suggestive mark

A suggestive trademark is a mark which is distinctive and not a descriptive mark. It does not provide any description of the product or a service, but gives a suggestion as to what the product might be. A suggestive mark requires the consumers to imagine what the product might be and connect it with the mark.

• Description mark

A descriptive mark is a one which gives a clear description of any merchandise. However, descriptive marks are not-registerable.

• Arbitrary mark

An arbitrary mark is exactly the opposite of a descriptive mark. While descriptive mark describes the details of the product, an arbitrary mark is totally unrelated to the products for which the mark is used.

The best example of an arbitrary mark is “Apple”. “Apple” trademark is registered for the brand apple and its electronic devices, while the word “Apple” means the fruit “Apple”. Thus “Apple” is the perfect example of an arbitrary mark as “Apple” means fruit while the mark is used for electronic devices like mobiles, laptops, etc.

• Fanciful mark

Fanciful marks are the easiest marks to get registration for. A fanciful mark is a mark which does not gives any meaning to the general public. It is a new word coined by the proprietor and hence no general meaning of a fanciful mark is there.

• Certification mark

A certification mark indicates that the goods/ services are certified by the owner of the sign in terms of material, quality, origin and other characteristics. A certification mark shows the quality of a product as the certification mark is given after a product undergoes various standard tests to ensure the quality.

• Trade dress

A trade dress is the visual representation of a product or its packaging which signifies the source of the product to the consumers.

• Sound mark

A sound mark is just like a trademark, but it is specifically registered for sound. A sound mark functions as uniquely identifying the origin of the product or any service. The best example of sound mark in India is the IPL (Indian Premier League) tune.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge