Trademarks serve two primary purposes. First, trademarks identify and distinguish either the goods or services of one manufacturer or seller from goods or services manufactured or sold by others. Second, trademarks indicate the source of the goods or services. In short, a trademark is a brand name.

There are essentially four slightly different categories of trademark. The first, and perhaps most widely known, is simply a “trademark.” which includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. See 15 USC § 1127. In short, a trademark is a brand name.

The next is a “service mark,” which is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services. See 15 USC § 1127.

Next is a “certification mark,” which is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce with the owner’’s permission by someone other than its owner, to certify regional or other geographic origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of someone’s goods or services, or that the work or labor on the goods or services was performed by members of a union or other organization. A certification mark is a mark that certifies that goods and/or services of another meet certain very specific standards of quality. A good example of a certification mark is THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING SEAL OF APPROVAL, which is placed on kitchen products. In order to obtain and maintain a certification mark, the certifier must set forth very specific standards that the products it certifies must meet, and it must provide that anyone who makes that category of product may apply for certification. Certification marks are unusual in that the certifier never uses the mark on any products of its own, it merely licenses others to do so.

Finally, a “collective mark” is a trademark or service mark used, or intended to be used, in commerce, by the members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group or organization, including a mark which indicates membership in a union, an association, or other organization, such as the ELKS (ELKS B.P.O.E.) or the UAW. Collective marks are different from ordinary trademarks, because they are used by all of the members of a group, rather than one specific company or individual. See 15 USC § 1127.

The terms “trademark” and “mark” can and are generically used to refer to trademarks, service marks, certification marks and collective marks.

It is also important to keep in mind that a trademark is very different from a copyright or a patent. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention. Both copyrights and patents find support for their existence in the US Constitution. As will be discussed shortly, trademarks do not enjoy protection based directly on a constitutional provision.

For more information about applying for a trademark read How to Register a Trademark. If you would like to file a trademark application with some help, but without actually incuring the expense of hiring an attorney, you may want to try LegalZoom.com’s trademark service.