Guidelines for Preventing Trademarks from Becoming Unprotectable

Guidelines for Preventing Trademarks from Becoming Unprotectable 

Owners of trademarks for patented goods should be particularly careful to use their marks for these goods in a fashion designed to maintain their distinctiveness. In the absence of licensing, there is often only one source for a particular patented good. The case law indicates that it is particularly easy for trademarks for patented goods to become understood by the public as the name of the goods themselves. 

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