Symbol The Reference Guide To Abstract And Figurative Trademarks Pdf (2025)

However, without this guide, you are navigating a dark room blindfolded. With it, you turn on the lights. In a crowded marketplace, your name is easy to forget. Your logo—the abstract shape or figurative character—is what sticks in the memory. To protect that memory, you need to speak the language of the Trademark Office.

But how do you classify a squiggle? How do you protect a shape? And crucially, how do you search for prior art when the mark isn’t made of letters?

Moving beyond word marks to build true visual distinction.

Here is why the Reference Guide is a game-changer:

However, without this guide, you are navigating a dark room blindfolded. With it, you turn on the lights. In a crowded marketplace, your name is easy to forget. Your logo—the abstract shape or figurative character—is what sticks in the memory. To protect that memory, you need to speak the language of the Trademark Office.

But how do you classify a squiggle? How do you protect a shape? And crucially, how do you search for prior art when the mark isn’t made of letters?

Moving beyond word marks to build true visual distinction.

Here is why the Reference Guide is a game-changer: