IP Basics

What is a trademark?

Trademarks protect signs that identify the source of goods or services: names, logos, slogans, even colours, sounds and shapes.

Trademarks, in short

How you get it: registration (e.g. EUIPO, USPTO), and in some countries simply through use.
How long it lasts: potentially forever, renewable every 10 years.
The catch: use it or lose it, and don't let it become a generic word. Visit the Brand Graveyard to see what happens when you do.