trademark

Distinctive design, graphics, logo, symbols, words, or any combinationthereof that uniquely identifies a firm and/or its goods or services, guaranteesthe item's genuineness, and gives it owner the legal rights to prevent the trademark's unauthorized use. A trademark must be (1) distinctive instead of descriptive, (2) affixed to the item sold, and (3) registered with the appropriateauthority to obtain legal ownership and protection rights. Trademark rights aregranted usually for 7 to 20 years and, unlike in case of patents, are renewable indefinitely. These rights are protected worldwide by internationalintellectual property treaties and may be assigned by their owner to otherparties.