Trade Name, Trade Mark or Service Mark

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BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR A TRADE NAME TRADEMARK OR SERVICE MARK
You may initially wonder which of these terms apply in your case. Each of these terms does mean something different and while there are gray areas, it is easiest to see trade names as relating to businesses or entities and trademarks and service marks as relating to the products of businesses or entities. If your product is goods, you would be applying for a trademark. If your product is a service, you would be applying for a service mark. For example, DCCA, Inc., a corporation, or DCCA Co., a partnership, has registered a trade name DCCA Manufacturing Co. The corporation or partnership might also apply for registrations for its "DCCA Widgets (trademark) and for its DCCA Widget Maintenance (probably a service mark).

The same basic rules apply to all three types of registrations so while the following commonly asked questions concern trade names, the answers apply to all three registrations.

Click above "Forms" link to get a complete listing of Trade Name, Trademark and Service Mark forms.

If you have any questions please check the FAQ listing within the General Info section.