A distinctive name or symbol used to identify a product or company and build recognition. Trademarks may be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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a name, sign, or design used on a product to show it is made by a particular company:
• The letters “WWF” are a registered trademark and must not be used without permission.
word focus - trademark
Trademarks and patents (= the sole right to make or sell a new invention, product, or method of doing something ) can be referred to as industrial property, and the law stops them being used by any other company or person. They have to be registered (= put on an official list ) at the Patent Office in the UK or at the Patent and Trademark Office in the US, and the owner of a patent must pay a renewal fee every year in order for it to continue.
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Ⅰ.
trademark UK US /ˈtreɪdmɑːk/ noun [C] (ABBREVIATION TM)
► LAW a name or symbol on a product that shows it was made by a particular company, and that it cannot be used by other companies without permission: »
Google is a trademark of Google Technologies.
trademark infringement/protection/violation »The retail giant has taken action against a number of small businesses over trademark infringement.
»trademark laws/rights
»trademark holders/owners
► something that a person or company has or does that makes them easy to notice or recognize: »
The advert shows a house built out of the bank's trademark red building blocks.
Ⅱ.
trademark UK US /ˈtreɪdmɑːk/ verb [T] LAW
► to protect a name or symbol on a product or products so that it cannot be used by other companies without permission: trademark a name/phrase/product »
The phrase was never trademarked by the company.
Financial and business terms. 2012.