Generic marks are not distinctive and are not registrable. Descriptive marks are generally not registrable. This rule flows from the policy that words needed to describe an item or service should remain available for all to use. Evidence relevant to secondary meaning includes advertising efforts, volume of sales of the associated product or service, length and manner of use, consumers' statements, and surveys of consumers. Some degree of imagination is necessary to discover the nature of the goods or services associated with the mark.
Suggestive marks are registrable without an affirmative showing of secondary meaning.
While suggestive marks receive stronger protection than descriptive marks, the are not the best marks in terms of the strength of protection under the trademark laws. Arbitrary and fanciful marks receive the strongest protection and are registrable without any affirmative showing. They are given strong protection because such marks either are new words or represent unique uses of known words. Arbitrary marks are marks that are applied in an unfamiliar way. Fanciful marks are marks created solely for use as a trademark.