The next strongest category of marks constitutes suggestive marks. Suggestive marks are those which, while not really descriptive of a product's qualities, nevertheless suggest some benefit or characteristic of the product. As with arbitrary marks, suggestive marks are considered to be strong, inherently distinctive marks and do not require secondary meaning.
Many marks are descriptive of the product or service which they identify.
A mark which immediately conveys to a consumer the nature of the goods or services to which it is applied is considered descriptive and a weak mark. In general, a descriptive mark will not be protected as a trademark. If, however, the senior user of a descriptive mark can show that it has established secondary meaning in the mark such that, among consumers, the mark has attained recognition not merely for its descriptive qualities but also as a designator of source of origin, then courts will enforce trademark rights in the mark against a second user. At the bottom of the spectrum are generic marks which cannot be protected as trademarks because they have become the generic classifications to which the product belongs. Generic marks are not capable of identifying any one party as the exclusive source of goods or services and, therefore, may be used by competitors.