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Trademark law gives legal protection to trademarks that are distinctive. The distinctiveness of the trademark refers to how easily customers identify a trademark with the associated products or services. Distinctive trademarks are sometimes referred to as “strong” trademarks. The stronger a trademark, the higher the likelihood of it receiving registration and the greater the protection.
Weak trademarks, on the other hand, have a lot more competition. It will be easier for your competitors to use a mark similar to a weak trademark and not be considered infringing on it.
Strong trademarks are often creative or unique, helping your brand stand out from competitors. These strong trademarks include fanciful, arbitrary, or suggestive trademarks.
Fanciful or coined trademarks (most distinctive) are invented words or signs without any real meaning. Because they are entirely the result of your imagination, a competitor selling the same products would have no justification for using the same or a similar trademark. For example, Kodak®.
Arbitrary trademarks (highly distinctive) are words or signs that have a meaning but are not linked to the product they are used with. For example, Apple ® for mobile phones. There is no reason for a competitor to use an apple to describe any feature of phone products.
Suggestive trademarks (distinctive) are trademarks that hint at the nature, quality, or attributes of the product but do not immediately describe these attributes. They require some imagination, thought, or perception on the part of the consumer to identify the attributes. For example, the JAGUAR® for automobiles would hint at the fact that the car is exotic and swift.
Descriptive trademarks (potentially distinctive) are trademarks that merely describe something about the product or service, like its quality, type, efficacy, use, shape, quantity, intended purpose, value, etc. Descriptive trademarks can be registered only if the owner shows that consumers recognize them as a trademark after some exclusive use. For example, RAPID is likely to be rejected for registering with nail polish as being descriptive.
It would be considered unfair to give any single nail polish manufacturer exclusivity over the word RAPID for marketing its products.
Generic words or signs (never distinctive) are not even trademarks. They are common names for your goods or services. For example, “Burger” for a burger shop. No one can claim the exclusive right to use the word Burger for a burger shop. Similarly, an apple would be a generic symbol for marketing apples (fruit), but it is arbitrary for marketing electronic devices.
