A fictional logo using the service mark symbol.
A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in some countries, notably the United States, to identify a service rather than a product.[1] When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol ® or "Reg U.S. Pat & TM Off" may be used (the same symbol is used to mark registered trademarks). Before it is registered, it is common practice (with some legal standing) to use the service mark symbol ℠ (a superscript SM).
Use of a service mark
A service mark differs from a trademark in that the mark is used on the advertising of the service rather than on the packaging or delivery of the service, since there is generally no "package" to place the mark on, which is the practice for trademarks. For example, a private carrier can paint its service mark on its vehicles, such as on planes or buses. Personal service providers can place their service marks on their delivery vehicles, such as on the trucks of plumbers or on moving vans. However, if the service deals with communications, it is possible to use a service mark consisting of a sound (a sound trademark) in the process of delivering the service. This has been done in the case of AT&T, which uses a tone sound followed by a woman speaking the company's name to identify its long distance service; MGM, which uses the sound of a lion's roar; and RKO, which uses a Morse code signal for their motion pictures.
Under United States law, service marks have a different standard of use in order to count as a use in commerce, which is necessary to complete registration and to stop infringement by competitors. A trademark normally needs to be used on or directly in association with the sale of goods, such as on a store display. As services are not defined by a concrete product, use of a service mark on the uniforms or vehicles of service providers or in advertisements is instead accepted as a use in commerce. However, like trademarks, service marks must pass a test of distinctiveness for it to be qualified as a service mark. Thrifty, Inc. attempted to submit a service mark application which described aspects of their business (uniforms, buildings, certain vehicles) as "being blue"; the application was rejected for not being specific enough, and the rejection was upheld on appeal.[2]
The service mark is also available in unicode as symbol U+2120; it displays on Unicode-capable browsers as ℠.
The HTML entity is ℠
.
See also
References
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| Concepts | - Distinctiveness
- Dilution
- Genericide
- Passing off
- Concurrent use
- Priority right
- Coexistence agreement
- Confusing similarity
- Functionality doctrine
- Initial Interest Confusion
- Good faith doctrine
- Fair use
- Secondary liability
- Nominative use
- Disparagement
- Reputation parasitism
- Cybersquatting
- Parallel import
- Well-known trademark
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| Treaties | - Paris Convention
- Madrid Agreement
- Madrid Protocol
- TRIPS
- Singapore Treaty
- Community Trade Mark
- Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
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| Country | - Australia
- Canada
- China
- European Union
- Hong Kong
- India
- Ireland
- Japan
- Oman
- Philippines
- United Kingdom
- United States
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| Types | Standard | - Registered trademark
- Service mark
- Trade dress
- Unregistered trademark
- Wordmark
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| Non-standard | - Certification marks
- Chartered marks
- Collective trademarks
- Defensive trademarks
- Electronic registration marks
- Font trademark
- Ghost marks
- Geographical indication
- Protected designation of origin
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| Non-conventional | - Colour trademarks
- Hologram trademarks
- Motion trademarks
- Scent trademarks
- Shape trademarks
- Sound trademarks
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| Related | |
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| Bodies | - WIPO
- International Trademark Association
- OHIM
- USPTO
- ICANN
- Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
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| Symbols | - Registered trademark symbol
- Service mark symbol
- Unregistered trademark symbol
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| Related | - Trademark attorney
- Trademark examiner
- Trademark infringement
- Trademark share
- Trademark troll
- World Trademark Review
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| - Category:Trademark law
- Case laws
- WP:MOS/Trademarks
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