Word mark
Word Mark
A word mark consists exclusively of letters, numbers, and certain permissible punctuation and special characters. Both words in the classical sense and mere combinations of characters are eligible as a word mark.
Peter HarlanderHarlander & Partner Rechtsanwälte „Berühmte Beispiele für Wortmarken sind „Red Bull“, „Coca-Cola“, „Apple“ oder „4711“.“
Upper and Lower Case
In principle, the protection of a word mark extends to upper and lower case. Thus, “APPLE”, “apple” and “aPPle” would be identical word marks.
However, if a specific upper or lower case spelling gives rise to a specific meaning of the word mark, different spellings are not regarded as identical. While “BioID” has a clear meaning, this is not the case with “bioid”.
Distinctiveness
A word mark – like all types of trademarks – must have distinctive character for registration. The distinctive character is the specific suitability of a trademark to make the registered goods or services assignable to a specific company.
Fantasy Terms
Fantasy terms, such as Manner for chocolate slices, often have a particularly high distinctive character – accordingly, the scope of protection of such word marks is broad.
Words in Common Usage
Words from general usage are also permissible as word marks, subject to compliance with the criteria.
The registration of the word “Apple” as a type of apple would therefore not be permissible due to a lack of distinctive character. “Apple” is the same as “Apfel” and is therefore not suitable to assign a type of apple to a specific provider. The registration of the word “Apple” for pears, on the other hand, would be misleading and therefore also not permissible.
The registration of the word “Apple” as a word mark for computers, on the other hand, was permissible because the term “Apple” was not previously mentally associated with computers. Therefore, the term “Apple” was suitable to assign computers to a specific provider. Ultimately, computers are something completely different from fruit, so there was no risk of deception.
Foreign Language Terms
The same applies to foreign language terms. The Italian word for apple “Mela” can therefore also not be registered as a type of fruit.
Before registering a trademark with word components, it is therefore necessary to check whether the words occur in a foreign language. Sensibly, however, this already happens during the creative process. Even large corporations repeatedly neglect this rule, for example, when the brand of the latest model of a car has an embarrassing meaning in a foreign language.
Neologisms
Neologisms that are composed of components of words in general usage are difficult.
In the case of “BioID”, this led to the refusal of registration as a word mark because the term composed of “Bio” and “ID” was regarded as plainly descriptive and not distinctive.
Personal Names
The registration of personal names as a word mark is permissible. There is therefore nothing standing in the way of registering the first name “Hugo” as a type of bread.
Recognition in the Trade
In principle, the registration of non-distinctive terms as a word mark is not possible.
The situation is different if there is acquired distinctiveness. If a large proportion of the relevant public associates a specific term with a manufacturer, then non-distinctive terms can also be registered as a word mark. A well-known Austrian example is the magazine “Gewinn”.
Select Your Preferred Appointment Now:Free initial consultationDistinction from Word-Image Mark
Colors, fonts, a special arrangement, and other graphic design elements are not permitted for pure word marks. If the trademark contains inadmissible special characters or design elements, it must be registered as a word-image mark.
If the word part is not distinctive, but a distinctive logo exists, then registration as a word-image mark is conceivable as an alternative to the word mark. Although this does not lead to protection of the non-distinctive word part, it can still make sense in certain constellations.
Select Your Preferred Appointment Now:Free initial consultationOther Types of Trademarks
Word marks Figurative marks Word/figurative marks Color marks 3D marks / Shape marks Position marks Pattern marks Sound marks / Aural marks Identification thread marks Hologram marks Motion marks Multimedia marks Other marks
Costs of a Word Mark
You want to register a word mark? Then you have come to the right place!
You can find an overview of the costs and fees in our trademark protection packages with fixed prices.
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