Strengths of Trademarks

Fort Lauderdale Trademarks

“Arbitrary” and “fanciful” marks are strong marks because they bear no relationship to the associated goods or services. Examples of strong marks are the Nike® swoosh and Clorox®.

“Suggestive” marks suggest a characteristic of the goods or services, but some imagination is required to associate the mark with the goods or services. An example of a suggestive mark is Greyhound® for bus services.

“Descriptive” marks are considered weak marks because they actually describe a characteristic or quality of the associated goods or services. Examples of descriptive marks are Holiday Inn® and Windows®.

Finally, “generic” marks generically describe the goods or services they are associated with. An example of a generic mark would be “Shoe Store” for a store that sells shoes.