Trade-mark in United States

Trade-mark Definition

A symbol, emblem, or mark used by a person to indicate that the article to which it is aflBxed is manufactured or sold by him, or that he carries on business at a particular place. 35 L. J. Ch. 61. Its original use was by manufacturers, but its use has been extended to other than tradesmen, to indicate the nature of their business, their identity, or the place where their business is carried on. Slater, Trade-Marks, 232; 55 Barb. (N. Y.) 151; 7 Cush. (Mass.) 322; 2 Barb. Ch. (N. Y.) 101. The office of a trade-mark is to indicate the origin, ownership, nature, etc., of goods manufactured or sold, or the person by whom, or the place where, they are so manufactured or sold. The essentials, therefore, of a good trade-mark, are that it be truthful in its express or implied statements, and that it be incapable of truthful application to other goods. 57 How. Pr. (N. Y.) 1; 39 Conn. 450. Descriptive words, or words indicating quality or attributes, which may be truthfully applied by others to the same class of goods, cannot constitute a valid trademark. 136 111. 215; 67 Ga. 562. Arbitrary or fanciful names, constituting the majority of trade-marks, derive their value from the fact that they have come to identify the goods of the user, and cannot, therefore, be truthfully used by others. 51 Fed. 829; 63 Hun (N. Y.) 330. 1875. St. 38 & 39 Vict. c. 91, amended by the acts of 1876 and 1877. It provides for the establishment of a register of trademarks under the superintendence of the commissioners of patents, and for the registration of trade-marks as belonging to particular classes of goods, and for their assignment in connection with the goodwill of the business in which they are used. Registration is substituted for public use as the mode of acquiring the right to a trade-mark, so that now no one can enforce his right to a trade-mark until it is registered. For the purposes of the act, a trade-mark consists (1) of a name of an individual or firm printed, impressed, or woven in some particular and distinctive manner; (2) of a written signature or copy of a written signature of an individual or firm; or (3) of a distinctive device, mark, heading, label or ticket. See 3 Ch. Div. 659. There may be added to any one or more of these essential particulars any letters, words, or figures. Certain kinds of marks used as trade-marks before the passing of the act may be registered under the act, although not coming within the statutory definition. See generally, as to the act, Sebastian, Trade-Marks; 4 App. Cas. 479-; 15 Ch. Div. 181.

Trade-mark in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

Back to Top

For starting research in the law of a foreign country:

Browse the American Encyclopedia of Law for Trade-mark

Scan Trade-mark in the appropriate area of law:

Explore other Reference Works

Back to Top

Legal Issue for Attorneys

A symbol, emblem, or mark used by a person to indicate that the article to which it is aflBxed is manufactured or sold by him, or that he carries on business at a particular place. 35 L. J. Ch. 61. Its original use was by manufacturers, but its use has been extended to other than tradesmen, to indicate the nature of their business, their identity, or the place where their business is carried on. Slater, Trade-Marks, 232; 55 Barb. (N. Y.) 151; 7 Cush. (Mass.) 322; 2 Barb. Ch. (N. Y.) 101. The office of a trade-mark is to indicate the origin, ownership, nature, etc., of goods manufactured or sold, or the person by whom, or the place where, they are so manufactured or sold. The essentials, therefore, of a good trade-mark, are that it be truthful in its express or implied statements, and that it be incapable of truthful application to other goods. 57 How. Pr. (N. Y.) 1; 39 Conn. 450. Descriptive words, or words indicating quality or attributes, which may be truthfully applied by others to the same class of goods, cannot constitute a valid trademark. 136 111. 215; 67 Ga. 562. Arbitrary or fanciful names, constituting the majority of trade-marks, derive their value from the fact that they have come to identify the goods of the user, and cannot, therefore, be truthfully used by others. 51 Fed. 829; 63 Hun (N. Y.) 330. 1875. St. 38 & 39 Vict. c. 91, amended by the acts of 1876 and 1877. It provides for the establishment of a register of trademarks under the superintendence of the commissioners of patents, and for the registra
tion of trade-marks as belonging to particular classes of goods, and for their assignment in connection with the goodwill of the business in which they are used. Registration is substituted for public use as the mode of acquiring the right to a trade-mark, so that now no one can enforce his right to a trade-mark until it is registered. For the purposes of the act, a trade-mark consists (1) of a name of an individual or firm printed, impressed, or woven in some particular and distinctive manner; (2) of a written signature or copy of a written signature of an individual or firm; or (3) of a distinctive device, mark, heading, label or ticket. See 3 Ch. Div. 659. There may be added to any one or more of these essential particulars any letters, words, or figures. Certain kinds of marks used as trade-marks before the passing of the act may be registered under the act, although not coming within the statutory definition. See generally, as to the act, Sebastian, Trade-Marks; 4 App. Cas. 479-; 15 Ch. Div. 181.

This definition of Trade-mark is based on The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary. This entry needs to be proofread.