Fanciful - A fanciful mark is a truly
unique word such as EXXON™. These marks tend to better
set your product or service apart from the competition.
Naturally these marks get the strongest protection against
trademark infringement. A disadvantage to this type of
mark, however, is that it is not indicative of your
product or service.
Arbitrary - An arbitrary mark is an
existing word that has little or no connection to your
product or service. Examples include INFINITI™
automobiles and APPLE™ computers. These marks also
provide substantial protection against infringement but
will not provide any information as to what you are
selling.
Suggestive - A suggestive mark is a
little more indicative of the product or service but does
not directly describe the product or service. More
precisely it indicates some characteristic of the product
or service. HUGGIES™ brand diapers for example is a
suggestive mark. These marks are favorable because they
offer substantial protection against infringement while
describing some desirable aspect or quality of your
product.
Descriptive - Selecting a mark to
represent your product or service requires a balancing act
between competing business concerns. On one hand, it is
advantageous to select a mark that is somewhat "descriptive" of the product
itself, - this type
of mark immediately informs the consumer what he or she is
considering buying and what they can expect from the
product. However such marks typically receive little or no
legal protection. We generally advise against
selecting marks that are purely "descriptive" in
nature.