Trademarks are strongest when they are most distinctive - that is, when they are the least descriptive of the goods or services for which they are used.
Call your coffee shop “The Coffee Shop” and consumers will have no way of knowing how to differentiate it from other coffee shops.
The more arbitrary a mark is, the easier it is for consumers to distinguish it - an orange for a fruit juice vs. a pelican for fruit juice.
The best markers are distinctive - they come in two types: “fanciful” and “arbitrary.”
A fanciful mark- is just made up - like Kodak; Xerox; Spotify; Etsy; Lenovo. Consumers won’t be confused because the name is literally made up! No one is going to assume that Etsy is a gas station or a bar.
An arbitrary mark has nothing to do with the product or service that it’s connected to. Apple for computers; Starbucks for coffee; Uber for ride hailing. Or, instead of “The Coffee Shop,” let’s call it “Pelican Coffee.” These make the strongest marks. Arbitrary and fanciful marks are easiest to register (if available, of course), enforce, and grow into other products.
And if someone else tries to enter the market with your name, you have a better argument that consumers will be confused. Say, another Pelican Coffee, down the street.
Of course arbitrary and fanciful marks can make it harder for businesses because it’s harder to tie the brand to the product. Apple computer? Really?
But that’s the tradeoff. If you want a bulletproof mark, make it as distinctive as possible!
