This Trademark Glossary has been compiled by INTA to assist in the understanding of the language and concepts used on this website, in INTA printed materials and in trademark law.
The Trademark Glossary is intended to serve as a general guide for the proper usage of trademark language. It is NOT an all-inclusive listing of all terms used in trademark literature and litigation, nor does it include all possible meanings as usage may vary internationally. INTA welcomes comments on the Trademark Glossary but disclaims responsibility for any misuse of language and concepts found herein, as well as alternative meanings not included for any entry.
Our goal is to include thorough and accurate information to best serve the global trademark community. Therefore, if a word or meaning is not listed, please let us know at info@inta.org. |
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ALL 374 terms found
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| AAU | | | ABA | American Bar Association
| | abandonment | A mark is considered abandoned when its use in commerce has been discontinued with intent not to resume such use. Duration of non-use depends on the individual country or jurisdiction. | | Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual | Manual published by the USPTO containing non-exhaustive listing of examples of descriptions of goods and services that are acceptable for use in trademark applications. Meant to serve as a guide for examining attorneys in examining applications, and for the public in preparing applications. | | ACPA | Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act | | acquiescence | Failure to take action against infringing parties, or other actions indicating either implicitly or explicitly that nothing will be done about infringing activities. Can lead to loss of trademark rights. | | acquired distinctiveness | A mark that is not inherently distinctive (for example, those that are merely descriptive, surnames, or geographic indicators) may nevertheless become capable of serving as a trademark by becoming associated in the mind of the relevant public with a particular source of goods and services as a result of extensive advertising and widespread use in commerce. See secondary meaning. | | actual confusion | When a consumer is in fact confused as to the source of goods or services because of similarity between two marks. | | aesthetic functionality | Aspect of the functionality doctrine. Product or packaging features that are not purely utilitarian, but are aesthetically pleasing and are an important ingredient in the commercial success of a product, may be considered de jure functional and therefore not eligible for trade dress or trademark protection. | | affixation | Placement of a mark on the goods identified by the mark, on packaging for the goods, or on signs, displays, invoices or other objects pertaining to the services identified by the mark. | | AIPLA | American Intellectual Property Law Association
| | AIPPI | Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Industrielle.
| | alternative dispute resolution (ADR) | Utilizing processes (i.e., mediation and arbitration) to resolve disputes outside traditional litigation channels. | | ambush marketing | Advertising strategy in which a company associates its mark with an event without being an official sponsor of the event. Such advertising may take place inside the event itself, in the event's surroundings, or simply with indirect reference to the event. | | amendment | Revision or change to an application or registration. | | amendment to allege use (AAU) | Attestation that the mark that is the subject of an intent-to-use (ITU) application has been used in interstate commerce, filed before the USPTO has issued a notice of publication. | | Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) | A 1999 amendment to the United States' Lanham Act providing a cause of action against cybersquatters, i.e., those who register others’ trademarks as domain names with bad-faith intent to profit. | | anti-dilution statutes | State and federal laws that enable the owner of a famous mark to prevent third-party uses of the mark that might tarnish the mark or blur its distinctiveness. See Federal Trademark Dilution Act.
| | anti-dissection rule | Principle that marks being analyzed for likelihood of confusion should be compared as a whole, i.e., the examiner should not compare separate parts of the respective marks in isolation. | | AO | appellation of origin
| | apostille | Standard form established by the Hague Convention to certify the authenticity of documents. | | appellation of origin | Name of a country, city, or other location that is known as a source of products with certain characteristics caused by the geographic conditions of that location (e.g., “Champagne” for sparkling wines). | | applicant | A person or a company that applies to register a mark. | | application | Formal request to register a mark at a trademark office. | | arbitrary mark | An existing word used as a mark for goods or services with which it has no direct or established relationship (e.g., APPLE for computers and TIDE for detergent). | Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 »
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