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What is a fanciful mark?

Senior Trademark Attorney

A fanciful mark (also called a coined mark) is an invented word with no prior meaning in any language; created solely to function as a trademark. "Kodak," "Xerox," "Häagen-Dazs," and "Verizon" are examples of fanciful marks.

Fanciful marks are the most distinctive type of mark. They have no prior meaning, and they are uniquely associated with the brand from the start, making them the most inherently distinctive type of trademark and the most straightforward to register. They also tend to attract the strongest scope of protection against similar marks.

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