Trademarks fall along a spectrum of distinctiveness, which determines how easily they can be protected under the law. On one end of the spectrum are generic and descriptive marks, and on the other end are suggestive, arbitrary, and fanciful marks. The farther a mark is from describing the product itself, the stronger and more protectable it is.
At the weakest end are generic terms, which are simply the common names for products or services—like “apple” for the fruit, or “car” for an automobile. Generic terms can never function as trademarks because they don’t identify a single source; they describe what the product is, not who makes it. Just above that are descriptive marks, which directly describe a characteristic, quality, or purpose of a product or service—like “Cold and Creamy” for ice cream. Descriptive marks are difficult to protect because they don’t tell consumers where the product comes from, only what it’s like. Such marks can only become protectable if they acquire what’s called secondary meaning—that is, if the public comes to associate the description specifically with one company rather than with the product generally.
On the stronger side are suggestive marks, which hint at some quality or aspect of the goods but require imagination or thought to make the connection—for example, “Coppertone” for suntan lotion. These are inherently distinctive and protectable from the start. Stronger still are arbitrary marks—common words used in an unexpected context—and fanciful marks, which are made-up words created solely for branding. The classic example is Apple: as a mark for fruit, it would be generic or descriptive, but for computers it’s arbitrary, since there’s no natural connection between apples and electronics. Arbitrary and fanciful marks are the easiest to protect and the hardest for competitors to copy legally, because they immediately identify the source rather than describing the product.
In short, the more a mark departs from describing the product itself, the stronger it becomes as a legal trademark. Choosing distinctive, arbitrary, or fanciful names gives a business not just creative branding, but also a powerful form of legal protection.