Weak Trademark Law and Legal Definition
Weak trademark refers to a trademark that is a meaningful word but is common in usage. It merely describes or suggests a product. This type of trademark is entitled to protection only if it has acquired distinctiveness over time. Another problem with a weak trademark is that small changes in marks could be enough to differentiate one trademark from another. In First Sav. Bank, F.S.B. v. First Bank Sys., 101 F.3d 645 (10th Cir. Kan. 1996), it was held that an extensive third-party use of a disputed term indicates that the term itself deserves only weak trademark protection.
Legal Definition list
Related Legal Terms
- Abandonment (Trademark)
- Acquiescence (Trademark)
- Acquired Distinctiveness (Trademark)
- Acquisition of Ownership (Trademark)
- Actual Confusion (Trademark)
- Advertising Injury (Trademark)
- Aesthetic Functionality (Trademark)
- Affirmative Defenses (Trademark)
- Affixation Requirement (Trademark)
- Assumed Name (Trademark)
