What is a Trademark/Service Mark?
A mark is a word, name, symbol, or device (or any combination) used to distinguish the goods or services of that person from the goods or services of others. A person includes corporations and other business entities, as well as individuals. A trademark is used on manufactured or produced goods. A service mark, on the other hand, is used to identify the services offered by a person. Marks are protected at common law but registration of a mark with the Secretary of State provides added protections. It may also be advantageous for a business organizations which have marks not used in interstate commerce, and therefore, do not qualify for registration under a federal law.
Marks provide consumers and customers with a dependable way to distinguish between the goods or services of different manufacturers or service providers. They are also a protection for manufacturers and service providers to allow them to identify their products or services as uniquely their creation. Marks registered with the Secretary of State are often searched. A registered mark may prevent others from adopting and infringing upon the mark by providing notice to others that the mark is "in use."
"In use" means that the proposed mark has already been used in commerce. A mark cannot be made merely to reserve a right to use it. On goods sold or transported in commerce in Iowa, a mark is deemed in use when the mark is placed on the goods or containers or associated displays or affixed on tags or labels. On services, a mark is deemed in use when used or displayed in the sale or advertising of the services and the services are rendered in Iowa.
Other terms to be aware of regarding marks are:
Specimen
A specimen must be an example of the mark as actually used and as the customer sees it, i.e. a product wrapper or an advertising flyer for services.
Class
A trademark or service mark "class" reflects the nature of the goods or services the mark is meant to indicate the source of.
Descriptive Mark
A mark cannot merely describe the goods or services with which they are associated, nor the geographic origin of the goods or services. While these elements may be part of the mark, if proof cannot be provided that they have acquired secondary meaning, right to exclusive use of the specific elements will be required to be disclaimed.
You can search marks that have been registered on our website by using the Trademark Search tool
How to file a Trademark
Your trademark can be filed one of two ways; by filling out the form and mailing it into our office, or you can file directly on Fast Track Filing!
