What is Trademark? Definition of Trademark, Trademark Meaning and Concept

The commercial brand is that sign that allows to distinguish in a market, the products and services of a company. Regardless of whether the company is individual or social.


The trademark is the distinctive sign with which a company has. The function of the commercial brand is to differentiate the products of one company, with respect to those of another, in the same market. Given that many of the products manufactured are homogeneous, through their brand they achieve this differentiation between producers. Therefore, through the commercial brand, a brand manages to differentiate itself from its competitors.


Along with the trademark, the law establishes that a guarantee mark must be attached, as well as a collective mark.


The brand is sometimes considered a symbol of quality. Especially when the company has years of experience in the market and a good positioning.


The brand, for many companies, is one of their main intangible assets.

What elements does a trademark consist of?


Among the elements that a brand includes, the following should be highlighted:

  • Logo, symbols, figures, images or drawings.
  • Words, or word combinations, or slogan.
  • Known people, actors or events.
  • Letters, colors, figures and combinations.
  • Sound signs and smells.
  • Form of products, experience in services.
  • Combination of all of the above.

Trademark types


Depending on the use they make of the elements described above, we can classify the types of brand in the following way:

  • Nominative brand : It is formed by one or more words. No signs or images. Refers to those that are only based on a name. For example, this is the case of banks such as JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley.
  • Figurative brand : Images, logos, etc. For example, Apple.
  • Mixed brand : It is the combination of the previous elements. That is, images and letters or numbers. This is the case of Microsoft.
  • Three-dimensional brand : It is the brand that enhances its image in the design of products and that which is perceptible through the sense of touch. This is common for car brands.
  • Sound brands: Those brands that base their strategy on the sense of hearing. Its identification is produced by hearing a set of sounds. This is the case of some companies such as McDonalds (with the slogan "I'm lovin it")
  • Olfactory marks : Those that we identify by the sense of smell. This is the case of perfumes and fragrances, or products such as tennis balls or plasticine.

Trademark and trade name


Although they may seem synonymous, there are differences between these two concepts that should be highlighted.

While the trademark is the use of words, images, figures, symbols, as well as the combination of these, to make distinctive signs, the trade name is the way in which a company identifies itself in the market.


The trademark can be registered at the international and national level, while the name can only be registered at the national level.


To get an idea, while the Apple brand is a bitten apple, the brand name is Apple.


Trademark and copyright


To protect the use of an exclusive trademark, there are mechanisms such as trademark registration, copyright, copyright, as well as other elements that help us to register what is related to our trademark. Being the objective of this, that nobody else can make use of said elements.


Thanks to these mechanisms, companies can register the most valuable elements of their brand. Its objective is to make exclusive use of said elements, so that they are not perverted, or they can be plagiarized.