Library - Registering, using and policing Trademarks Registering, using and policing Trademarks by Scott J. Fine Trademarks and Service Marks identify a source of goods or services. A mark is an organization's reputation, embodied in a name, slogan, logo, tag line or other device. Marks are becoming more important to more companies as the Network Economy continues to grow globally since their reputations are growing on a global scale. It is important to note that, unlike copyright, registering a mark is a complicated process and mistakes in that process can be fatal. After registration, use of the mark must be appropriate or rights in it can be lost.
Misuse can be as fatal to a mark as mistakes during registration.
And after all that, the mark must be policed on a constant basis or, again, rights in the mark can, and will, be lost. Registration Common is the misconception that a good mark is one that describes the goods or services with which it is associated. Careful consideration must be given to the choice of the mark at the very beginning of the process. Another common mistake in this phase of a mark's life is the decision to register one mark. Very often, people fail to recognize that there are usually, at least, two marks which need registration.