The spectrum of trademark strength goes from fanciful made up names to generic unprotectable names. The stronger and more distinctive the mark, the easier it is to register and protect your mark.
FANCIFUL / COINED
By far the most protectable names are words that are not in the dictionary. These are made up names with no meanings. Think Google, Xerox, Kodak, Spotify, Exxon. Downsides of fanciful marks are that since they have no meaning, you will likely have to invest a significant amount of money into marketing to associate your name with your product or service to create a link in a consumers mind.
ARBITRARY
Arbitrary marks use real words but not in association with what the word is typically known for. Apple for computers, Blackberry for cellphones, Gap for clothing.
SUGGESTIVE
A suggestive mark suggests what the good or services being offered is, without describing them. It takes an extra step for a consumer to make the connection between the name and the good or service. Examples would be: Airbus for airplanes, Lyft for car rides, Greyhound for bus transportation, KitchenAid for kitchen products. While suggestive marks are not as strong as arbitrary or fanciful marks, they are still acceptable trademarks.
DESCRIPTIVE
Descriptive words cannot be registered unless secondary meaning is established. You can do this by either showing that consumers recognize the brand due to heavy marketing and advertising, or after 5 years, it is deemed to have acquired distinctiveness and you can try to apply for the primary register. An example would be American Airlines or Sharp for televisions. Both were deemed descriptive, then gained secondary meaning over time thus becoming gaining protection as a trademark.
GENERIC
Generic marks use the common name for a product or service that it is selling. Generic marks are never able to be used as trademarks for the for product or services they describe. Examples: Apple to sell apples, Blackberry to sell blackberries, Car Dealership for a car dealership. Generic marks cannot be registered. The reasoning behind this is because let’s say you want to register a brand called Apple to sell apples. That would mean that you would have the exclusive right to use the mark Apple to sell apples, and you could stop anyone selling apples from describing their apples as apples. Can you see why that would be an issue? The same logic applies for descriptive marks say, if you want to brand your green apples as “Green Apples”. However, if you want to call your company Apple to sell computers, this is totally fine.
PRINCIPAL REGISTER VS SUPPLEMENTAL REGISTER
The principal register is where you want to be registered when it comes to trademarks. Strong marks like fanciful, arbitrary, and suggestive marks will automatically be granted registry with the principal register. Descriptive marks that have acquired secondary meaning will also be found here.
Non-distinctive marks such as descriptive marks that are capable of acquiring distinctiveness over time or marketing efforts will be offered registration with the supplemental register. After 5 years of use, you can try to apply for the principal registry.
Registration under the supplemental register does not give exclusive rights, and your mark will not have an opportunity to become incontestable.
