The Abercrombie court determined that descriptive words can get
trademark protection if they develop a
secondary meaning. The protection only exists for source-designating uses of the word, not descriptive or generic uses of the word.
Fanciful marks A
fanciful /
inherently distinctive trademark is
prima facie registrable, and comprises an entirely invented or "fanciful" sign. For example, "
Kodak" had no meaning before it was adopted and used as a trademark in relation to goods, whether photographic goods or otherwise. Invented marks are
neologisms which will not previously have been found in any
dictionary.
Arbitrary marks An
arbitrary trademark is usually a common word which is used in a meaningless context (e.g. "
Apple" for computers). Such marks consist of words or images which have some dictionary meaning before being adopted as trademarks, but which are used in connection with products or services unrelated to that dictionary meaning. Arbitrary marks are also immediately eligible for registration.
Salty would be an arbitrary mark if it used in connection with e.g. telephones such as in
Salty Telephones, as the term "
salt" has no particular connection with such products.
Suggestive marks A
suggestive trademark tends to indicate the nature, quality, or a characteristic of the products or services in relation to which it is used, but does not describe this characteristic, and requires imagination on the part of the consumer to identify the characteristic. Suggestive marks invoke the consumer's perceptive imagination. An example of a suggestive mark is
Blu-ray, a new technology of high-capacity data storage.
Descriptive marks A
descriptive mark is a term with a dictionary meaning which is used in connection with products or services directly related to that meaning. An example might be
Salty used in connection with saltine crackers or anchovies. Such terms are not registrable unless it can be shown that distinctive character has been established in the term through extensive use in the
marketplace (see further below).
Lektronic was famously refused protection by the
USPTO on ground of being descriptive for electronic goods.
Generic terms A
generic term is the common name for the products or services in connection with which it is used, such as "salt" when used in connection with sodium chloride. A generic term is not capable of serving the essential trademark function of distinguishing the products or services of a business from the products or services of other businesses, and therefore cannot be afforded any legal protection. This is because there has to be some term which may generally be used by anyone—including other manufacturers—to refer to a product without using some organization's proprietary trademark. Marks which become generic after losing distinctive character are known as
genericized trademarks. ==References==