A trademark is a recognizable design, phrase, or mark that distinguishes a product or service from a particular source from those of others. Sometimes a mark used to identify a service is called a service mark, particularly in the United States. The trademark can be owned by a company, legal entity or individual and is usually found on a label, packaging, voucher, the product itself or sometimes even on company buildings. The primary purpose of a brand is to communicate that a product comes from a unique source and to differentiate it from other, similar products. For example, a trademark application serves to protect a brand name in order to preserve its original authorship.

Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights. Intellectual property means a creation of the mind and a monopoly over that mind, assigned and protected by law to the owner of that intellectual property. Trademarks, patents, copyrights and design rights are all part of intellectual property rights. Any unauthorized use of the trademark through the manufacture or sale of counterfeit consumer goods constitutes an infringement of intellectual property rights known as trademark piracy. In the event of such infringement, the trademark owner may take legal action against trademark infringement.

Reasons to register and protect your trademark
Some countries, including the United States and Canada, recognize common law trademark rights, which allow action to be taken to protect a brand name even if a trademark has not been registered on it. Nevertheless, it offers significantly less legal protection compared to registered trademarks. Most countries now require formal trademark registration in order to take legal action against trademark infringement. Below is a quick guide on how to go through the process of registering your own trademark.

If the brand name is already in use before the trademark is registered, registration can be applied for under the concept of commercial use, declaring that the brand name is used commercially and is dated when it was first used. The declaration is usually included in the standard application form, which then has to be submitted to the competent authority with a sample showing the use of the brand name. Before submitting the registration form, it is necessary to search for existing trademarks related to a specific brand name - this can be done online.

Recent major trademark infringement cases
There have been numerous trademark infringement cases in the history of industrial property rights. Each of them serves as a reminder that intellectual property infringement is as serious an offense as physical property infringement.

#1 Louis Vuitton vs. Louis Vuitton Dak
Fashion designer Louis Vuitton recently won a trademark lawsuit against a South Korean fried chicken restaurant, Louis Vuiton Dak. The court ruled that not only was the restaurant's name too similar to the fashion brand, its logo and packaging closely resembled the designer's iconic imagery.

#2 Starbucks vs. Freddocino
In 2016, Starbucks took legal action against the company that owns the Coffee Culture Cafe in New York after it launched a drink called Freddocino. Starbucks owns a trademark for the term frappucino and notes that not only do both names share too many similarities, but both drinks share the same structure and visuals.

#3 3M vs 3N
3M initiated a lawsuit against a Chinese company using the 3N brand name and won on the grounds that the company had managed to attract customers and a significant market share thanks to similarities with 3M and its high distinctiveness and reputation of this brand name.