Public interest in trademark protection is high. The Trademark Act of 1946, called the Lanham Act, defines a trademark as any word, name, symbol or device or any combination of those used by a person, or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and applies to register on the principal register established by this Act, to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others and to show the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown. A trademark has several functions. Arguably, the primary function is identifying the origin of the goods to which the trademark is affixed. It is not required that the purchaser know the identity of the source of goods as long as he or she recognizes that all goods bearing a particular trademark originate from a common, even if anonymous, source.
Trademarks also provide quality assurance.
For example, when a consumer dines at a particular franchised fast-food restaurant, he or she expects that the nature and quality of the food served will be the same as that served at other restaurants bearing that name. A trademark induces the supplier to maintain a consistent level of quality. Thus, trademarks are associated with goods while trade names identify businesses. A trademark must be distinctive, or recognizable as a mark, to serve its identification function. The degree of distinctiveness has important implications.