© Trademarks
A trademark is a distinctive word, phrase, logo, graphic, symbol, slogan or other device - including an Internet domain name (such as www.thevirtualcollege.org) - that is used to identify the source of a product and to distinguish that company's or merchant's products from others. Trademarks are a distinct form of intellectual property. To have the status of a trademark, the word, phrase or other device must be unique enough so that customer can easily recognize a particular product in the marketplace. (For example, the distinctive Coca-Cola bottle with its red label and white lettering is a registered trademark of the company.)
The term trade name refers to to the names used to identify a commercial product or service in the market, which may or may not be registered as a trademark. (Trade names are also sometimes referred to as brand names.) The name Coca-Cola, for instance, is a registered trade name that coexists with related trademarks, such as the Coca-Cola bottle. Unlike marks that identify goods or services, trade names identify the company itself, and the goodwill it has created over time.
A service mark is the same as a trademark, but while trademarks promote products, a service mark promotes services and and events (for example, Ticketmaster.com). Despite these distinctions, the term trademark is often used to refer generally to all marks, whether they are trademarks, trade names or service marks.
Use of trademarks and service marks is signified by the "TM" and "SM" symbols.
