Complete Question:
Which of the following is a trademark automatically received by an organization when a symbol is being consistently used in the normal course of business?
Group of answer choices
A. Open source trademark.
B. Common law trademark.
C. Registered trademark.
D. Open source trademark.
Answer:
B. Common law trademark.
Explanation:
A common law trademark can be defined as a protection or enforceable mark for a product name, logo, symbol or brand name used to distinguish goods and services prior to its registration with the state or federal government. Common law trademark is a trademark which is automatically received by an organization when a symbol is being consistently used in the normal course of business.
This ultimately implies that, common law trademarks are not governed by any statute and as such are only limited to the geographical location where they are used.
For instance, if a tomato paste is being sold to consumers with the product name "Ginoo" in Florida, the company's trademark applies to Florida only. Thus, another company can use the product name without any trademark infringement in other states of the country such as New York, Washington DC, California etc. except in Florida due to a common law trademark.
