What does trademark mean?
A trademark is a word, name, symbol, design, or other sign that identifies the source of goods or services and distinguishes them from those of another origin. It may take the form of a brand name, company logo, distinctive phrase, product shape, or stylized symbol. Legal protection can arise through use in commerce, even before registration, while registration provides additional benefits under the law of the relevant jurisdiction. In less formal contexts, trademark can simply mean a recognizable brand or an identifying characteristic: a performer might describe a distinctive sense of humor as their trademark. The word is also related to, but distinct from, copyright, which protects original expression rather than signs that identify a source. Trademark is especially useful in business and legal language because it emphasizes both recognition and differentiation: consumers know which product or service is associated with its origin, and competitors are discouraged from creating confusingly similar versions.
A word, name, symbol, design, or other sign that identifies and distinguishes the source of goods or services.
"The logo is protected as the company's registered trademark."
The legal meaning depends on the mark's use and distinctiveness as well as applicable registration law.
To designate something with a trademark, or to make it characteristically associated with a particular person or business.
"The entrepreneur trademarked the name of the new enterprise before expanding overseas."
This use is more common in business and legal contexts than in general conversation.
The regular plural of the noun is trademarks. When trademark is used as a verb, trademarks is the third-person singular present-tense form.
"The company owns several trademarks in different countries."
The compound tells the whole story: a trademark is a mark used in trade.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trademark come from?
The compound trademark was formed in early nineteenth-century English from trade and mark. Both elements were established English words by that time, and the compound plainly described a identifying sign used in commerce. Trade, trader, trading, and tradesman belong to the related word family, while mark derives from Old English marca.
Related word forms
How trademark is actually used
In legal contexts, trademark denotes a category of source-identifying marks, not every brand name or product feature automatically qualifies for legal protection. The verb trademark is less common in everyday use than brand. British English traditionally writes the noun as two words, “trade mark,” whereas American English normally uses “trademark.”