Types of Marks

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

III. TYPES OF MARKS

A. Word, Slogan, Tag Line, Logo

The most common trademark is a word or short phrase. Words are audible and are short, crisp, and catchy. Words fit well on packaging and signage. Words can be easily spoken and do not have to be described.

A slogan or a tag line—a combinations of words—can also serve as a brand. So long as the slogan/tag line is used to indicate the source of the goods or services provided (such as "You're in good hands."), a slogan properly serves as a trademark.

A variety of other perceptible indicia can also serve as a trademark. The federal trademark statute, the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1141) is fairly broad in defining a trademark: "The term 'trademark' includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof ... to identify and distinguish [the provider's] goods ... ."¹⁶ Trademarks can consist of just the words and/or a design, a font, an elaborate drawing, or anything that indicates a source of the goods or services.

A product or service may also have more than one trademark with which it is associated, with each mark being independently protectable. For example, Frosted Flakes brand cereal has at least nine trademarks associated with it: (1) the words FROSTED FLAKES; (2) the font in which FROSTED FLAKES is written; (3) the house mark KELLOGG'S, which is the brand of the manufacturer; (4) the font in which KELLOGG'S is written; (5) the red tone in which the KELLOGG'S font is written; (6) the name TONY THE TIGER; (7) the image of Tony the Tiger; (8) the tag line "THEY'RE GREAT!" and (9) the sound of Tony the Tiger growling "They're G-r-r-reat!."

B. Sound, Color, etc.

Other, less traditional, trademarks are also fully protected under trademark law. Color can become a trademark. Tiffany's pale blue jewelry packaging and Owens Corning's pink fiberglass are two examples. A color, like all non-traditional trademarks discussed below, must have acquired secondary meaning that consumers associate with the source of the product,¹⁷ and the color cannot be functional.¹⁸ Sound can be a trademark; a consumer can hear a specific sound and be reminded of a certain company. The tone played at the boot up of a Mac computer indicates that Apple provides that computer. Similarly, a scent is a powerful memory triggering device, and the scent of an item could function as a mark, evidenced by the registration of the scent of thread.¹⁹ As long as it is not functional, the shape of a product, such as the distinctive shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, can...