What is a trade-mark?

A trade-mark is a design, a word or a group of words that is applied to a product or used in association with a service so as to identify and distinguish the product or service from that of other people.

A trade-mark could be, for instance a mark like BLAST or a group of words like BLAST FROM THE PAST or a slogan such as BLAST IS ONE IN A MILLION or a design such as

or a combination of words and a design such as

A trade-mark is distinguished from a copyright since a copyright applies to written works such as books, songs or artistic works such as paintings or drawings.

A trade-mark is distinguished from a patent since a patent applies to a new idea for a machine, or process or product and not the name of that machine process or product.