Private property refers to the ownership of property by private parties - essentially anyone or anything other than the government. Private property may consist of real estate, buildings, objects, intellectual property (copyright, patent,...
trademark law
property
Property is anything (items or attributes/tangible or intangible) that can be owned by a person or entity. Property is the most complete right to something; the owner can possess, use, transfer or dispose of it. According to California Civil...
PTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or just PTO) is the federal agency responsible for granting U.S. patents and registering U.S. trademarks. The USPTO is the sole entity capable of granting patents and trademarks legally...
public domain
The public domain includes creative works and knowledge that are no longer protected by a copyright, trademark, or patent. These works are considered part of the public domain because their legal protections have expired, been forfeited, or...
secondary meaning
A secondary meaning is an additional meaning acquired by a non-distinct trademark through its commercial use. To acquire federal trademark protection, a non-distinctive mark must become associated with a single commercial source in the minds...
service mark
Definition
A mark used to distinguish the services provided by one person or company from services provided by others. Service marks serve the same purposes as trademarks, but they are used to identify services rather than goods.
OverviewA...
Supplemental Register
Supplemental Register is the secondary register of trademarks maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Supplemental Register provides limited trademark rights and benefits and consists of marks that do not...
trade dress
The design and shape of the materials in which a product is packaged. Product configuration, the design and shape of the product itself, may also be considered a form of trade dress.
The Lanham Act protects trade dress if it serves the same...
trade name
A type of mark used to identify a company, partnership, or business rather than goods or services. Trade names cannot be registered under the Lanham Act unless they actually function to identify the source of particular goods or services rather than...
trademark
Definition
A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination thereof, used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from those of another and to indicate the source of the goods. See 15 U.S...