Question: what is the difference between brand name and trade mark? 

Answer: A Brand Name is simply the name of a company, product, service, or combination of these. (e.g. Coke, Chevrolet, IBM, Jelly Belly, etc.) If you want to get technical, you can also have "Sub-brands" like Cherry Coke, Diet Coke, etc.\n\nA TradeMark is something entirely different. It's simply a legally protected word or phrase, used to "protect" that word or phrase. Typically protection only applies within a specific business category (e.g. beverages) and within a specific country. The protection prevents others in the industry from using the same phrase. Examples of things that may bear a trademark are brand names, taglines ("The choice of a new generation"), or the names of sub-brands or specific services: "McGriddle". It's also possible to trademark sounds (the ABC tones, the sound of a Harley Davidson engine) and logos (but sometimes with limited success - Harley Davidson was not successful. - the sound was deemed too generic and therefore "not ownable".)\n\nDon't confuse TM with Copyright - A copyright is obtained by registering an entire text, song, or other full proprietary creation like a book, article, lyrics, etc.
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