Search
Close this search box.

How to Choose a Good Trademark

Consumer guide to Trademark a Name

Share This Post

Trademark lawyers Cheryl Hodgson and Bill Finkelstein share how to stand out from the crowd when you choose a trademark.

Download PDF transcription and receive free updates to CREATE | BUILD | PROTECT your brand.

A good trademark is one that is strong and legally protectable. Before launching a new product or service, take some some to make certain you have chosen a good trademark. In this Brandaide conversation, trademark lawyers Bill Finkelstein and Cheryl Hodgson share what makes for a good trademark. The new brand owner wants the mark to be memorable and distinctive. Arbitrary names like APPLE are distinctive and make strong marks. What about surnames like McDonalds? Is that a good trademark?

Cheryl Hodgson: Bill, what makes for a good trademark?

Bill Finkelstein: Well, the most important thing certainly is for it to be memorable. You want people to remember it when they go to the store, or when they go online to make purchases. You also want it to be a distinctive trademark, which helps with memorability, so when you advertise it and when it appears on packaging, people immediately recognize it.

A lot of people choose their own names, and of course if you choose Bill as a trademark, how many thousands of Bills are out there, Cheryls or what not? Or even last names. Take something like McDonald’s which right now we would say is a distinctive trademark, but many years ago, in choosing your last name and there are other McDonald’s out there, it takes a long time to build investment and to spend money and time and advertising to get that recognition factor for something like a surname or geographic name.

Not every trademark has to be a made up name like Pepsi, but those are really good trademarks.

Cheryl: So Pepsi’s really a made up name. Where did it come from, by the way, do you know?

Bill: The illusion apparently back in the late 1800’s was to calming your stomach down. And peptic is a Latin word having something to do with your stomach, so I think that’s the best guess that anyone has, because in those days, soft drinks were actually dispensed at soda fountains. Those were inside drug stores. So that is what apparently where it came from.

It is a made up word, it’s not in the dictionary, and therefore it is what we call a very strong trademark because when you see Pepsi or you hear the word Pepsi, it only conjures up one thought.

When you have a trademark like Apple, if you just use the word Apple, it could refer to obviously the red thing that we eat, and of course it also refers to music and record albums, as well as obviously now the very popular computer. But again, with a dictionary word it’s a little extra investment, a little extra time to develop the kind of association between that word and the product or service that you’re selling.

Cheryl: So when you say a dictionary word, you mean like an ordinary word like an apple, because it has a meaning or a generic term, you like to say sometime. It’s generic for a kind of fruit. But it can be a good trademark if it’s applied arbitrarily to something unrelated to fruit.

Bill: Yes, exactly.

When it’s time to choose your own trademark and register a name, use this Consumer Guide to Trademark Services

Are you Registration Ready?  Take Our 2-Minute Quiz Now to Find Out!

Categories
Archives
Check List Note Pad with Trademark Symbol

Brand Going Global?

Thinking of registering a global trademark for your business? Get your free step-by-step guide to brand protection in international markets, prepared by a leading international trademark attorney today.

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

Nine Costly Myths About Trademark Registration

CLICK BELOW TO LEARN THE OTHER SIX

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

It’s what you didn’t know to think about that gets you every time!
— FREE CONSUMER GUIDE —

Guide to Trademark Registration Services

Get this FREE GUIDE today, and you will learn:

  • 6 Reasons your application will be refused
  • 7 Must-ask questions when hiring non-legal filing services
  • 6 Registration rip-offs to avoid



Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

Where should we send the guide?


Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

Follow the Rules of Trademark Use in Marketing and Media to Maintain Trademark Rights

Cheryl’s Brand Owners’ Guide to Trademark Use reveals how to establish lawful trademark use necessary to register a trademark and to sustain trademark protection.

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

Can You Protect What You Select?

MAKE A SMART CHOICE

Hint—Five choices and two are really bad. Enter your email and avoid the bad guys.

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

Start Your Trademark Journey the Right Way

— GET 3 FREE CHAPTERS —

Registered Trademark - Amazon Bestseller
Thinking of registering a trademark for your business?

Avoid common mistakes when you download three chapters from my best-selling book—totally free.

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

You are almost there!

Enter your details below and I will send you a FREE copy for

Free Guide to Brand Name Selection

Skip to content