2. What trademarks are for?

What trademarks are for?

A trademark is used to make a sign, design or expression recognisable and identifies products or services of a particular manufacturer. The trademark owner can be an individual, business, or any legal entity. A trade mark can be located on packaging, a label, a label/flyer or on the product itself.Trademarks are used to make properties of products or services exclusive. 

A trademark may be designated by the following symbols:

• ™ (the "trademark symbol", which is the letters "TM", for an unregistered trademark, a mark used to promote or brand goods)

• ℠ (which is the letters "SM" in superscript, for an unregistered service mark, a mark used to promote or brand services)

• ® (the letter "R" surrounded by a circle, for a registered trademark)

A trademark is usually either a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image or a combination of any of these elements. There are also a range of non conventional trademarks which do not fall into any of these standard categories, for example, they could be based on either colour, smell or sound.