Registering Descriptive Trademarks

A trademark is a name or design that distinguishes your goods from those of others. This is called distinctiveness, and the Trademark Act does not allow names without distinctiveness to be registered.

The most typical non-distinctive marks consist only of words describing the origin, quality, efficacy, use or shape of the goods. These are called descriptive trademarks.

For example, “Healthy Snacks,” “Delicious Cake” and “Cozy Blanket” consist only of words describing the nature or quality of the goods, so they cannot be registered for snacks, cakes and blankets respectively.

“Apple” would be descriptive for apples, but not for computers or smartphones.

In other words, the relationship to the goods is a key factor in deciding whether a mark is descriptive.

What about a mark made of words that suggest, rather than directly describe, the nature of the goods? The line between suggestive and descriptive marks may feel blurry, but suggestive marks can be registered.

Descriptive marks are actually very attractive because they tell consumers about the product intuitively. That is why many clients come to us wanting to file descriptive marks.

Not every descriptive mark is impossible to register. There are ways to register even a descriptive trademark.

With our long experience in trademark practice, INCUBE Patent & Law Firm will help you register the mark you want.