Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property: Trademarks

What is a trademark? What is a service mark?

• A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. [For more information see: Trademark from Cornell University Law School.]

• A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.

• Normally a mark for goods appears on the product or its packaging, while a service mark appears in advertising for the services.
• A trademark is different from a patent or copyright. A patent protects an invention. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. 
• Federal trademarks, issued by the USPTO, are valid in all 50 states. In addition, each state issues its own trademarks.
• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides extensive trademark information: Trademark Basics

Trademark Databases 

United States Patent and Trademark Office 

• USPTO Design Search Code Manual - if your mark includes a design element (i.e. logo), you will need to search it by using a design code
• Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) - This search engine allows you to search the USPTO's database of registered trademarks and prior pending applications to find marks that may prevent registration due to a likelihood of confusion refusal.  Includes records back to 1984.
• TEAS - Trademark Electronic Application System - for online filing.
• TSDR - Trademark Status & Document Retrieval - allows you to see the filings of others.

World Intellectual Property Organization

• IP laws and treaties (WIPO Lex) The WIPO Lex database is a comprehensive search tool that allows you to search international treaties and national laws on intellectual property.
• Global Brand Database – allows you to perform a trademark search by text or image brand from various international sources it includes trademarks, appellations of origins and official emblems.
• Nice Classification System – is an international classification of goods and services used for the registration of marks. It was established by treaty in 1957.

State Trademark Information

• Commonwealth of Massachusetts Trademarks -  The Massachusetts Secretary of State’s web site offers trademark forms and a searchable database of Massachusetts trademarks. 
• State Trademark Information - find information on trademarks specific to all 50 states and D.C. from the USPTO and FindLaw

Trademark Searching Tips

• Conducting a Trademark Search - advice from staff at the USPTO
• USPTO Confusingly Similar - to avoid likelihood of confusion remember to check alternate spellings, alternate phonetic sounds, look a-likes (for example: school, skool, skuul, s’kool).

Trademark Guidance

• USPTO Registering a Trademark - Trademark basics, searching trademarks and how to apply for a trademark
• Registering a Trademark - guidance from Findlaw.com

Information for Historical Investigation

• ​RUSS OCR Trademark Searches - Searchable trademark certificates from 1870 to 2010.
• Trademark Indexes - a collected set of indexes to U.S. trademark records.
• Index of Trademarks issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office - Hathi Trust Digital Library, University of Michigan.
• Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks annual report / U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office - from the Hathi Trust collection.

RUSS's Guide to the Gazettes at Hathi Trust - use this to help make sense of these next two entries.

Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office - In this period, trademark records were in the same volumes as patent records - these volumes are thanks to the Hathi Trust.

Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. Trademarks. and  Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks.  Later, trademark records were published in a separate series from patent records.  Again, these volumes are thanks to the Hathi Trust.