Distinctive Terms Distinctive trademarks are memorable, evocative, unique or somehow surprising for example, 7-Up, Lycra or Cherokee apparel. So if you're naming a service or product and want a strong mark, try for a name that is either unusual or used in an unusual way. A judge is likely to treat a distinctive name as a trademark or service mark and protect it from use by other sunless someone else has used a similar trademark on the same type of product or service first. It's a distinctive name. So the name would probably not qualify for trademark or service mark protection unless it had been in use for a long time and developed a sizable following that is, a secondary meaning.
Ordinary words receive limited legal protection as trademarks.
It's more difficult to keep others from using them or something similar. Even a weak trademark can acquire limited protection under unfair competition laws. Owners of weak and unregistered names can get some relief from a rival's use of the identical name on the identical product or service in a competing market. Weak trademarks can become strong ones through long use and extensive public familiarity with the mark. When that happens, it can be transformed into a strong trademark.