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4.1. What Is a Trademark?

When you see golden arches, do you think of McDonald’s Restaurants? When you hear the phrase JUST DO IT!, do you think of Nike? The golden arches symbol and the short phrase JUST DO IT! are both trademarks.

Companies use trademarks to create brand identities and to distinguish their goods and services. Trademark law protects any element that uniquely identifies a product or service. In addition to words and short phrases, trademarks can also be logos, graphic symbols, designs, sounds, shapes, colors and even smells.

Trademark law distinguishes between trademarks which identify goods and service marks which identify services. ...

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