Florida Law Firm > The Trademark Purpose
The Trademark Purpose
A trademark is quite different from either a copyright or a patent. A trademark is any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof that serves to identify and distinguish the source of one party's goods or services from those of another party. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of services rather than goods. In this report, the terms "trademark" and "mark" are intended to refer to both types of marks.
The purpose of a trademark is twofold: to identify the source of products or services and to distinguish the trademark owner's goods and services from those of others. As long as a trademark fulfills these functions, it remains valid. Trademark ownership rights in the United States arise through use of a mark.
Continued use of a mark is necessary to maintain trademark rights. The owner of a trademark is entitled to the exclusive right to use the mark. This entitlement includes the ability to prevent the use, by unauthorized third parties, of a confusingly similar mark. Marks used by unrelated parties are confusingly similar if, by their use on the same, similar, or related goods or services, the relevant consumer population would think the goods or services come from the same source.
Unlike patent and copyright law:
- Federal trademark law coexists with state and common-law trademark rights.
- Registration at either the Federal or state level is not necessary to create or maintain ownership rights in a mark.
Federal trademark law is embodied in the Lanham Act and is based upon the commerce clause of the Constitution. Therefore, to obtain a Federal trademark registration, in most cases the owner of a mark must demonstrate that the mark is used in a type of commerce that may be regulated by Congress.
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