Editing Service mark

{{Short description|Trademark used to identify a service rather than a product}}
{{Confused|Service mark symbol|Trademark|Copyright|Patent}}
{{Refimprove|date=May 2010}}

[[File:Service mark.svg|thumb|250px|A [[fiction]]al [[logo]] using the [[service mark symbol]]]]

A '''service mark''' or '''servicemark''' is a [[trademark]] used in the [[United States]] and several other countries to identify a [[Service (economics)|service]] rather than a [[product (business)|product]].<ref>For the U.S. definition, see {{cite web|title=15 U.S. Code § 1127. Construction and definitions; intent of chapter|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1127|website=Legal Information Institute|publisher=Cornell Law School|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>

When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol {{not a typo|[[registered trademark symbol|®]]}} or "Reg U.S. Pat & TM Off" may be used (the same symbol is used to mark registered trademarks).  Before it is registered, it is common practice (with some legal standing) to use the [[service mark symbol]] {{not a typo|℠}} (a [[subscript and superscript|superscript]] SM).

== Usage ==
A service mark differs from a trademark in that the mark is used on the advertising of the service rather than on the packaging or delivery of the service, since there is generally no "package" to place the mark on, which is the practice for trademarks.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Evans|first1=Lawrence E.|title=Primer on Trademarks and Service Marks|journal=St. Mary's Law Journal|date=1986|volume=18|page=138|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/stmlj18&div=13&id=&page=|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref> For example, a [[private carrier]] can paint its service mark on its vehicles, such as on planes or buses. Personal service providers can place their service marks on their delivery vehicles, such as on the trucks of [[plumbers]] or on [[moving van]]s. However, if the service deals with communications, it is possible to use a service mark consisting of a sound (a [[sound trademark]]) in the process of delivering the service. This has been done in the case of [[AT&T Inc.|AT&T]], which uses a tone sound followed by a woman speaking the company's name to identify its long-distance service; [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]], which uses the sound of a [[tiger]]'s roar;<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-11-23|title='Sound helps filmmakers achieve narrative value for their films'|url=https://www.navhindtimes.in/2015/11/24/magazines/buzz/sound-helps-filmmakers-achieve-narrative-value-for-their-films/|access-date=2021-07-01|website=The Navhind Times|language=en-US}}</ref> and [[RKO Pictures]], which used a [[Morse code]] signal for their motion pictures.

Under United States law, service marks have a different standard of use in order to count as a use in commerce, which is necessary to complete registration and to stop infringement by competitors. A trademark normally needs to be used on or directly in association with the sale of goods, such as on a store display. As services are not defined by a concrete product, use of a service mark on the uniforms or vehicles of service providers or in [[advertisement]]s is instead accepted as a use in commerce. However, like trademarks, service marks must pass a test of distinctiveness for it to be qualified as a service mark.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Howard|first1=Donna L.|title=Trademarks and Service Marks and Internet Domain Names: Giving ICANN Deference|journal=Arizona State Law Journal|date=2001|volume=33|page=637|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/arzjl33&div=23&id=&page=|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref> For example, [[Dollar-Thrifty Automotive Group|Thrifty, Inc.]] attempted to submit a service mark application that described aspects of their business (uniforms, buildings, certain vehicles) as "being blue". The application was rejected for not being specific enough, and the rejection was upheld on appeal.<ref>{{cite web|title=In re Thrifty, Inc., 274 F.3d 1349, 1351 (Fed.Cir.2001)|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15159379864415021322|website=Google Scholar|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Certification mark]]
* [[Marketing]]
* [[Service mark symbol]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Trademark law}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Service Mark}}
[[Category:Brand management]]
[[Category:Brands]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law]]
[[Category:Product management]]
[[Category:Trademark law]]
[[Category:Services marketing]]

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