Duration
Trademark registrations are valid for an initial period of 10 years. After that, they can be renewed every 10 years as long as they are still being used in business. A trademark is presumed to be abandoned if it is not used for a 2-year period. Abandoned trademarks become available to anyone.

Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement includes unauthorized use of an existing registered mark, or use of a new mark that resembles one too closely. Trademark infringement is not about originality, but about creating confusion in the marketplace as to the source of a product or a service. Trademark rights can be infringed unknowingly—that is, even if the new work was created independently. Even though the infringement may be accidental (you may independently create a logo for your client that looks like someone else's trademark), there may be infringement liability, and the infringer may be responsible to pay substantial damages.

Each case is, of course, judged according to its own merits. In general, though, some trademarks are easier to defend than others are. The strength of a trademark can vary based on the nature of the mark itself. A mark that strongly suggests the type of product or service being sold (like “Roto-Rooter”) is often weak from a legal standpoint. An arbitrary mark that uses an ordinary word or phrase in an unexpected way is stronger (like “Yahoo!”). A coined word that did not exist before and has no literal meaning apart from its commercial usage (like “Diageo”) tends to be the strongest.

Most companies actively promote their trademarks to the public, but they must take care that a mark remains distinctive and does not slip into general usage as a common term for describing an entire category of products or services. If a mark becomes a generic name (like linoleum), federal trademark protection will be difficult to maintain.

Trade dress
Trade dress is part of U.S. trademark law. It protects an established "look" for a particular product or a service in the marketplace, including overall composition and design, size, shape, color, texture, and graphics. Trade dress is intended to protect a brand from unfair competition by imitators and copycats. For example, trade dress for a product will include the design and appearance of the product itself as well as that of its container and all other distinguishing nonfunctional elements that make up the total visual image with which the product is presented to consumers. However, a general visual “style” cannot be protected, such as art nouveau or art deco. Keep in mind that trade dress protection applies to the manufacturer or source of products, not usually to the designer—unless you are very well-known and have negotiated an agreement to co-brand a product with your client (like Philippe Starck and Target).

Trade dress infringement
Just as we discussed with trademarks, trade dress rights can be infringed unknowingly—that is, even if the new work was created independently.

If you have questions
If you need more detailed information about trademark law and how it might apply to your own particular situation, you should consult with an intellectual property attorney.

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