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Copyright 2009 Nancy J. Flint, Attorney At Law, P.A.  All rights reserved.  For legal information about this site, click here.  Nothing on this web site is legal advice to anyone, including you, and no attorney-client relationship is formed with anyone by virtue of the content on this Web site.
Contact me for a free consultation on how to avoid mistakes that could put your rights in your ideas and inventions at risk!
A trademark, or "mark," is "a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others."  Trademarks are used in connection with goods.  Trademarks used in connection with services are often called service marks.

In the United States, the user of a trademark can acquire enforceable trademark rights simply by using the mark in connection with goods and services.  However, federal registration of the mark gives the owner valuable rights for enforcing the mark against unlawful users.   State registration often provides other substantive rights and should be considered along with federal registration.