Service Mark In U.S.A (Part 2)

The rights to a service mark may be acquired in two ways. First, a business can register the mark with the government. Most service marks are eligible for registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Several state governments have separate registration requirements. Once a service mark has been registered, the law typically affords protection to the first mark filed with the government. Second, a business may acquire rights to a service mark through public use. However, a mark must be held out to the public regularly and continuously before it will receive legal protection. Sporadic or irregular use of a service mark will not insulate it from infringement.

To receive protection, a service mark must also be unique, unusual, or distinctive. Common, ordinary, and generic marks rarely qualify for protection.

Once a business has established a vested right in a service mark, the law forbids other businesses from advertising their services with deceptively similar marks. Service mark infringement occurs when a particular mark is easily confused with other marks already established in the same trade and geographic market. Greater latitude is given when businesses that share similar marks are in unrelated fields or offer services in different consumer markets. 

Do you think there is such a law protecting the service marks in Malaysia? Feel free to comment!

Reference

The Gale Group, 2008, Service Mark, [Online], 3rd of October 2011, 

       URL : http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Service+Mark 

Service Mark In U.S.A

What is a Service Mark? 


Service Mark is a trademark that is used in connection with services.


Businesses or companies uses service mark to identify their services and distinguish them from other services provided by different companies of the same field. Service marks normally consist of letters, words, symbols, and other devices that helps inform customers about the origin of the particular service. Trademarks, by contrast, are used to distinguish different competing products instead of services. For example, Fed-Ex is a service mark of a company which provides delivery services. And its competitor, DHL, which is also another delivery company. 


In the U.S, the service marks are regulated by the law of Unfair Competition. At the federal level, service mark infringement is governed by the LANHAM Trademark Act of 1946. At the state level, service mark infringement is governed by analogous Intellectual Property statutes.
In some states, the service mark infringement may give rise to a Cause of Action under the Common Law. This is because service marks are a particular type of trademark, the substantive and procedural rules governs both types if marks which are technically similar to each other. 


Any examples of service marks that can be found in Malaysia?  Please do feel free to comment in the comment box below. =)

Reference

The Gale Group, 2008, Service Mark, [Online], 3rd of October 2011, 

       URL : http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Service+Mark