The intention of every entrepreneur is to enable customers remember them with ease, hence the misconception that their name or mark must be that which best describes their business, products or services.
For the purposes of marking a trade, the use of generic names has been wildly adopted by most businesses particularly within the technology industry and this has been in bid to create an increased web traffic on search engine keywords via the internet.
In our opinion, it is a flawed strategy to adopt a generic or descriptive name for your startup, products or services, which can adversely affect the growth of your business.
According to experts like Selvams, “the name you select should score high on the degree of protectiveness.” Thus in determining your score, your mark can be fitted into one of the following categories.
Coined Mark
At the top scale of distinctiveness and strength are coined marks. A coined mark is one that is invented solely for the purpose of using it as a trademark. Notwithstanding the fact that it has no meaning apart from its affiliation with a given product or services. It is a fabricated word, hence the reason it is also referred to as a “fanciful” mark.
For example, coined marks like KODAK® for photography products, REEBOK” for shoes, “twenty19.com” for internships, “SONY” for electronics and GOOGLE® for Web browser services, are currently operating and protected.
The best advantage of having your startup tailored or marked within the coined mark category, it will be difficult for others to infringe such marks as it is difficult for others to give a plausible explanation for adopting similar marks.
