Intellectual Property in Commercial Settings

Requirement: A mark should not be descriptive

A trade mark should not be simply descriptive of a particular quality or aspect of the relevant goods or services. It is quite common for new businesses to choose names that are too descriptive of their services, products or projects. However, descriptive names should be avoided because they are not distinctive enough to be registered.

The word apple is used as a trade mark on a bottle of apple juice
The word ‘apple’ on an apple flavoured drink is an example of a descriptive mark