A name, esp. a tradename, that clearly distinguishes one thing from another. • To maintain an action for tradename infringement, the plaintiff must prove, among other things, that it owns a distinctive name. [Cases: Trade Regulation 10. C.J.S. Names §§ 15, 17; Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 41–42.]
distinctiveness, n. Trademarks. The quality of a trademarked word, symbol, or device that identifies the goods of a particular merchant and distinguishes them from the goods of others. — Also termed acquired distinctiveness. [Cases: Trade Regulation 10. C.J.S. Names §§ 15, 17; Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 41–42.] — distinctive, adj.
A very strong trademark, one that consumers immediately and consistently associate with specific goods and services. • A distinctive trademark is usu. fanciful, arbitrary, or suggestive, but a descriptive trademark or common name can become distinctive if it becomes so well known as to acquire a secondary meaning. — Also termed distinctive mark.
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false-association claim. Intellectual property. A claim based on the wrongful use of a distinctive name, mark, trade dress, or other device to misrepresent sponsorship, origin of goods or services, or affiliation. • The power to assert a false-association claim is not limited to trademark registrants. Any person who claims an injury caused by deceptive use
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tarnishment. Trademarks. A form of dilution that occurs when a trademark’s unauthorized use degrades the mark and diminishes its distinctive quality. Cf. BLURRING. [Cases: Trade Regulation 366. C.J.S. Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition § 79.]
A trademark consisting of a made-up or coined word; a distinctive trademark or tradename having no independent meaning. • This type of mark is considered inherently distinctive and thus protected at common law, and is eligible for trademark registration from the time of its first use. — Also termed fanciful mark; fanciful term; coined trademark;
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unfair competition. 1. Dishonest or fraudulent rivalry in trade and commerce; esp., the practice of endeavoring to pass off one’s own goods or products in the market for those of another by means of imitating or counterfeiting the name, brand, size, shape, or other distinctive characteristic of the article or its packaging. [Cases: Trade Regulation
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ab epistolis (ab ee-pis-t[schwa]-lis), n. [Latin] Hist. An officer who maintained the correspondence (epistolae) for a superior; a secretary. ABERCROMBIE(TT) CLASSIFICATION Abercrombie classification. Trademarks. One of the four types of trade designation — whether by mark, name, or dress — as generic, descriptive, suggestive, and arbitrary or fanciful, in increasing order of distinctiveness. Ab-ercrombie &
Trademarks. One of the four types of trade designation — whether by mark, name, or dress — as generic, descriptive, suggestive, and arbitrary or fanciful, in increasing order of distinctiveness. Ab-ercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World, Inc., 537 F.2d 4, 9 (2d Cir. 1976). [Cases: Trade Regulation 12.]
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supplemental register. Trademarks. A roll of trademarks that are ineligible for listing on the Principal Register because they are not distinctive. • Marks on the supplemental list are not protected by trademark law, except to the extent that the listing may bar the registration of similar marks. The listing may be required, however, for a
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