Along with copyright, patents, and trade secrets, trademarks are an example of intellectual property (IP). It can be a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services. It's how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from competitors.
Tardi, C. (2025, May 17). What is a trademark? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trademark.asp
The word "trademark" can refer to both trademarks and service marks. A trademark is used for goods, while a service mark is used for services.
A trademark:
Having a trademark DOES NOT mean you legally own a particular word or phrase and can prevent others from using it. You don't have rights to the word or phrase in general, only to how that word or phrase is used with your specific goods or services.
Ex. You use a logo as a trademark for your small woodworking business to identify and distinguish your goods or services from others in the woodworking field. This doesn't mean you can stop others from using a similar logo for non-woodworking related goods or services.
From the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
What about domain names and business names?
A domain name or a business name is not a trademark. A domain name is an internet address registered through a domain name company. A domain name may be eligible for trademark registration. It is possible for a domain name to infringe on someone's trademark. Learn more at the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) site.
A business name is the name under which you do business in a state or jurisdiction. Registering a business name in your state doesn't not equal trademark registration. A business name may be trademarked if you use it to distinguish your goods from those of another. (From Arizona State Library's PTRC: Trademarks Guide)
Standard Character Format
Most trademarks are registered in standard character format. This format protects words, letters, numbers, or a combination of those without any limitation to a specific font style, size, color, or design. Basically, you're getting protection from the words themselves, regardless of how they're displayed, like with the registered word Coca-Cola.
Other standard character format examples include:
Special Form Format
Trademarks registered in special form format protect trademarks that are stylized, have designs or logos, or are in color. Trademark owners typically register in special form format when the stylization and design is an important part of the trademark. With this format, you're getting protection specifically for the way the trademark looks.
For example:
The McDonald's golden arches design is an example of a registered trademark in a special form format.
The company Nike registered this trademark in special form format, combining the stylized word Nike with their swoosh logo.
The format of the trademark you apply to register affects your application filing requirements. Learn more about the two different formats of trademarks and their filing requirements.
Believe it or not, you can register a trademark for a sound!
Examples:
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NBC - Entertainment - Chimes
73553567
MGM - Entertainment - Roaring Lion
74629287
Twentieth Century Fox - Entertainment / Motion Picture Films - Drums + Trumpets + Strings
75676156
ESPN - Entertainment / Sports Programming - Six Musical Notes
76280750
Twentieth Century Fox - Entertainment - "D'OH!" (Homer Simpson Character)
Visit the USPTO for additional examples.
Similar to a sound trademark, scents might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this form of intellectual property! Although it is rare, you can register a trademark for a scent, as proven by Hasbro when they trademarked the scent of PLAY-DOH. To qualify, the smell must be something that a consumer identifies as part of the brand's product or service that will differentiate that particular brand from others with similar products. And a company should offer proof that the scent is not functional by definition.
From the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Some colors are so iconic that they simply cannot be used by another company or sold in a paint store. Trademarked colors include:
It's up to you! Your rights to use a trademark accrue as soon as you start using it to identify your sources of goods or services, without any formal registration. Every time you use a trademark, you can use a symbol with it. The symbol lets consumers and competitors know you're claiming the trademark as yours. You can use "TM" for goods or "SM" for services even if you haven't filed an application to register your trademark.
The benefits include:
