While selecting a Trademark, it is essential to consider the 🌀 Spectrum of Distinctiveness, which plays a crucial role in identifying whether a mark is suitable for registration ✅.
🧠 The most common approach for brand naming is to match the name with the product/service being offered. However, this can raise an important issue:
⚠️ If the trademark name describes the type, name, or characteristics of the product/service, it is considered Descriptive.
✔️ On the other hand, if the trademark does not directly relate to the product/service, it is categorized as an Arbitrary Trademark — and is easier to register.
📊 Spectrum of Distinctiveness ranges:
- 🔵 Arbitrary/Fanciful → Strongest protection ✅
- 🟡 Suggestive
- 🟠 Descriptive → Weak protection ⚠️
- 🔴 Generic → No protection ❌
🚨 Why Descriptive Trademarks Face More Legal Hurdles?
📌 Key Issues with Descriptive Trademarks:
a. 🧾 Section 9(1) of the Trademarks Act, 1999 prohibits registration of marks that are descriptive of their goods/services.
b. 🕰️ Duration & Extent of Use – Overcoming descriptiveness may require proving long-term, continuous usage which is fact-specific and variable.
c. ❗ Publici Juris – Some marks become too common and lose distinctiveness. These cannot function as trademarks anymore.
d. ⭐ Acquired Distinctiveness (Secondary Meaning) – If a mark becomes widely recognized by the public as referring exclusively to the owner’s goods/services, it may gain protection.
⚖️ Judicial Rule & Practical Strategy
💡 Where secondary meaning is absent, descriptive marks cannot be enforced against others. To strengthen your trademark:
🔹 Prove long-standing usage with concrete evidence (ads, invoices, brand recall).
🔹 Demonstrate the public association of the trademark with your goods/services.
🔹 Show the intentional or misleading adoption by a rival (to claim malafide intent or likelihood of confusion).
✅ Tip: Choosing an arbitrary or suggestive name is often the safest route for brand owners aiming for solid legal protection with minimal litigation risk.
We at Trademark and legal hub can help you to choose trademark which is best suitable to your brand or products. We have experienced team of professionals , helping you to register your Trademark. We offer trademark registration in Mohali, trademark registration in Panchkula, trademark registration in Chandigarh and various cities. You can contact us as follows.
Trademark And Legal Hub
Phone:- +91-7814757608
Address:- Savitry Enclave, 3 A, W VIP Rd, Zirakpur, Punjab 140603
Location- https://g.co/kgs/TNwUzhE