Standard Character Marks (Word Marks) v. Special Format Marks (Design Marks)

The Difference between Word Marks and Design Marks

Depending on which elements of the trademark are being registered, marks are classified into two categories. When you are filing your trademark application, you will have to choose which of the two you want your mark to be registered as.

1. Standard Character Marks (also Known as Word Marks)

For such marks, the literal elements are protected under trademark laws. This means that the letters, words, or phrases used in the mark are protected irrespective of their stylization in a logo.

How to Make a Word Mark

To standardize the registration of this type of mark, the USPTO has created a list of standard characters (available on the official website of the USPTO); it is a set containing the letters of the Latin alphabet, Roman and Arabic numerals, diacritics, and punctuation marks. You have to use symbols from this set to make your word mark. If there is a symbol in your mark that is not included in this set, you will have to register it as a special format mark. Furthermore, while registering standard character marks, no stylization or underlining can be included.

The USPTO will create a standard character drawing for this sort of mark. This drawing may be free of any unnecessary matter including certain symbols, such as ™ and ®, which are not a part of the original trademark. The standard character drawing is the depiction of the mark in black against a white background.

The Advantages of Registering a Word Mark

The owner of a standard character mark will own all formats of the mark. If another party wants to register a design mark that contains the standard characters of an already existing word mark, the owner of the latter can challenge this registration on the basis of the “likelihood of confusion”. Had both the marks been special format marks, this similarity would not have been much of a problem. The reason is that a design mark is restricted only to the style in which it was shown in the original special format drawing; therefore, the owner cannot claim ownership of any other design.

You Will Have to Submit a Claim with a Word Mark Application

Word marks enjoy broader legal protection as they bring all fonts, colors, designs, etc. of the words in the mark under the exclusive ownership of the registrant. So, during trademark prosecution, the applicant has to write a statement in the application declaring that the owner of the mark being registered does not lay claim to any particular size, style, and color of the mark, but to the literal content of the mark in whatever form it may be displayed.

2. Special Format Marks (also Known as Stylized or Design Marks)

In a design mark, the protected elements are its visual style and special features which are not present in the standard character list. These features can be its font, color, unique form of punctuation, and some other kind of stylization.

How to Make a Design Mark

During the registration of a special format mark, a special type of drawing needs to be made. The USPTO advises the applicants to submit a special format drawing that is at least 250 pixels and at most 944 pixels along both dimensions. This drawing must be scanned in a resolution of at least 300 DPI and at most 350 DPI, and the file should be uploaded in .jpg format. If its color is not a feature being claimed by the applicant, the mark (like a word mark) will be depicted in black against a white background, otherwise, the drawing will be colored.

In case you have any queries regarding the difference between the two types of marks, or you intend to register a trademark of your own, do consider contacting us at Trademark Counsels for a free consultation.