A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a recognizable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others.
Trademarks also must be original, you cannot trademark something that is already in use, unless it has been exclusively used by you. The protection exists so that a particular product can be protected against counterfeits or other imposers. It also affords the owner some power over how their mark is used, but in practice there are defenses against using trademark law to regulate your mark's image to that level.
You could start exploring trademarks by reading this story of a bogus trademark claim: http://www.popehat.com/2013/02/06/the-popehat-signal-help-an-author-against-a-bogus-trademark-claim/
It all came about because of the transition from people trusting their local blacksmith, grocer or other tradesman and trusting brands, like Quaker Oats, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, etc. This happened over a period of time starting in about 1890 and extending into the '40s. Naomi Klein's No Logo has a decent introduction to this transition, but many consider it to be a politically charged book.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-02-09 07:20 pm (UTC)A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a recognizable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others.
Trademarks also must be original, you cannot trademark something that is already in use, unless it has been exclusively used by you. The protection exists so that a particular product can be protected against counterfeits or other imposers. It also affords the owner some power over how their mark is used, but in practice there are defenses against using trademark law to regulate your mark's image to that level.
You could start exploring trademarks by reading this story of a bogus trademark claim: http://www.popehat.com/2013/02/06/the-popehat-signal-help-an-author-against-a-bogus-trademark-claim/
It all came about because of the transition from people trusting their local blacksmith, grocer or other tradesman and trusting brands, like Quaker Oats, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, etc. This happened over a period of time starting in about 1890 and extending into the '40s. Naomi Klein's No Logo has a decent introduction to this transition, but many consider it to be a politically charged book.