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Protecting Weak Online Trademarks

By Scott J. Slavick
November 29, 2012

You're launching a new computer keyboard. You'd like to call it “101-Key Keyboard.” After all, the product is a U.S. standard with 101 keys. The name conveys the benefit of the keyboard ' that it is standard ' and the concise name will fit easily into your product catalog. You plan to register the name as a trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) so you can enforce your rights to the name against competitors who try to use the same name.

Solid plan? Not so fast. You've created what is known as a “weak” trademark ' one that will be difficult to register as a trademark and to defend in the marketplace. Creating a brand name that is trademark-worthy and can be defended in the market requires a thoughtful strategy. The standards of the USPTO for trademark registration are nuanced, and the wrong choice of words can make it challenging to obtain a defensible registered mark.

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