Nov 4, 2009
How do I select names that will become strong trademarks?
People tend to select trademarks that are descriptive of their business or product. But this is the wrong approach. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not register descriptive names and they typically won't become descriptive through use. Arbitrary names like apple for computer are not at all descriptive and therefore can be registered and become strong trademarks. Perhaps the best marks, however, are subtly suggestive- such as Tide (suggestive of cleansing) for laundry detergent.