{"id":51583,"date":"2023-01-04T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/?p=51583"},"modified":"2023-04-10T17:55:37","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T12:25:37","slug":"difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is The Difference Between Service Mark And Trademark?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A company build its brand name generally on the basis of identifiable items such as, logos, sounds, words,\ncolour schemes, and\/or devices; therefore, companies are very meticulous when\nit comes to protecting their intellectual property (IP) because it holds a high\nvalue in today\u2019s economy. In this blog we will discuss the difference between\nservice mark and Trademark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#What_is_IP\" >What is IP?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#How_to_Recognise_a_Service_Marks\" >How to Recognise a Service Marks?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#What_is_a_Trademark\" >What is a Trademark?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#Difference_between_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\" >Difference between Service\nMark and Trademark<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#Registration_of_Service_Marks_in_India_%E2%80%93_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\" >Registration of Service Marks in India &#8211; Service Mark and Trademark<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#Registration_of_Trademark_in_India_%E2%80%93_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\" >Registration of Trademark in India &#8211; Service Mark and Trademark<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/difference-between-service-mark-and-trademark\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_IP\"><\/span>What is IP?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we discuss the difference between service mark and Trademark, lets discuss more about IP. IP\nor also called as Intellectual property is referred to all the creations by a\nhuman mind. There are total seven types of intellectual property rights, they\nare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li> Copyright for the protection of artistic and literary work under the Copyrights Act of 1957<strong>.<\/strong><\/li><li>Trademarks for the protection of words or symbols under the Trade Marks Act of 1999<strong>.<\/strong><\/li><li>Patents for the protection of inventions under the Patent Act of 1970<strong>.<\/strong><\/li><li>Designs of for the protection of a shape, any configuration, patterns, ornament or composition of lines or colours which is applied to two dimensional or three dimensional under the&nbsp;Design Act of 2000.<\/li><li>Geographical Indications for the protection of reputed natural under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999.<\/li><li>Semiconductor integrated circuit layouts.<\/li><li>Plant varieties &nbsp;under the&nbsp;Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer\u2019s Right Act of 2001  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is\nvery important to provide legal protection to intellectual property for the\nprogression of any society in this world.&nbsp;\nA registered service mark is used to designate the source of services.\nIt helps to distinguish the services of one company from another one. While a\ntrademark can be a phrase, symbol, design, name or the combination of these\nthings that a company puts on its products so that it can be easily\ndifferentiated from the product of the different company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\nmight seem very straightforward, but a few complexities must be ironed out.\nUnderstanding the various forms of brand protection is quite essential for a\nbusiness. In this article, we have discussed the key differences between a\nservice mark and a trademark and explained why you might want to use them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Recognise_a_Service_Marks\"><\/span>How to Recognise a Service Marks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A service mark is a\nsub-class of a trademark. The company uses service marks as a brand identifier.\nAll the companies that provide different types of services rather than products\nrefer to their trademark as the service mark.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In India, a service\nmark is not as such defined anywhere. It is rather included in the definition\nof trademark under <em>Section 2(ZB)<\/em> of <strong>the Trade Marks Act of 1999<\/strong><sup><a class=\"text-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indiacode.nic.in\/bitstream\/123456789\/1993\/1\/A1999-47.pdf\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup>. The term service mark is not defined independently under the Trade\nMarks Act 1999 of India, rather is included in the definition of a trademark which\n\u201cincludes a mark that is capable of being represented graphically so that it\ncan distinguish between the services of one person from those of other. A\nservice mark can only be associated with the services provided by the company,\nfor example, services like cleaning services, legal services, Training\nservices, consulting services, etc. Some well-known examples of service marks\nare: American Express, United Airlines, Facebook, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to the Trade\nMarks Act of 1999, trademarks were only given to the goods and not services\nunder the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act of 1958. But the Act of 1999 changed\nall the scenarios because, for the first time, trademark registration was given\nto services in India. The Act follows the Nice Classification of Goods and\nServices and provides 11 classes for services from Class 35 to Class 45 under\nthe Trade Marks Rules of 2002.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_Trademark\"><\/span><strong>What is a Trademark?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A trademark works as a\nvisual representation that is attached to goods to indicate their origin. A\ntrade mark is a precious asset for a trader or a businessman because it is\ndirectly associated with the goodwill of trade or the business; therefore, the\nprotection of a trademark is directly linked to the protection of the\nreputation or goodwill of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The term trademark\nhas been defined under Section 2(1)(zb) of the Trademark Act of 1999.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the\nact, the term trademark is defined as, \u201c<em>Mark\nwhich is capable of being represented graphically and also capable of\ndistinguishing the goods or services of one business from those of others\nbusiness and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of\ncolours<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Difference_between_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\"><\/span>Difference between Service\nMark and Trademark<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A trademark or a service mark is a symbol or a logo\nor a phrase or the combination of these things, which helps in differentiating\none product or service with that of other. The difference between Service Mark and Trademark lies in\nwhat they represent. One represents the product of a company, whereas the other\none represents the service provided by the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The key differences <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>between service mark and\nTrademark<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> are mentioned below:<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table table table-bordered\"><tbody><tr><td>\n  <strong>S. No. <\/strong>\n  <\/td><td>   <strong>Trademark<\/strong>   <\/td><td>   <strong>Service Mark<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  1\n  <\/td><td>\n  A\n  trademark can be used for any good that is produced by the company. \n  <\/td><td>\n  A\n  service mark can only be used for the services provided by the company \n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  2\n  <\/td><td>\n  When\n  the applicant submits the application for trademark registration, they can\n  use the symbol TM with the product. \n  <\/td><td>\n  When\n  the applicant submits the application for service mark registration, they can\n  use the symbol SM with the service they are providing. \n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  3\n  <\/td><td>\n  Information\n  regarding the categorisation is provided under <em>Section 7<\/em> of the act.\n  For\n  the definition and classification of goods, they categorized from 1 to 34 under\n  the Trademark Act of 1999.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Information\n  regarding the categorisation is provided under <em>Section 7<\/em> of the act.\n  For\n  the definition and classification of services, they categorized from 35 to 42\n  under the Trademark Act of 1999\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  4\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trademark\n  is associated with the product of the company such as chocolate, shoes, cell\n  phone, notebooks, packing material, etc.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Service\n  mark is associated with the service provided by the company, such as cleaning\n  services, legal services, Training services, consulting services, etc. \n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Registration_of_Service_Marks_in_India_%E2%80%93_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\"><\/span>Registration of Service Marks in India &#8211; Service Mark and Trademark <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The process for registering a service\nmark in India, includes the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Firstly the interested applicant needs to\nidentify the location of their service \u2013providing company.<\/li><li>By filling out form TM-1 with all the\nrequired documents, the applicant can proceed with the procedure (with this\napplicant has to provide the details regarding the class and subclasses in\nwhich the company aims to provide services.). <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Document\nrequired for registering a service mark<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>A copy of the service mark.<\/li><li>Details regaling the service-providing company.<\/li><li>Details regarding the trademark agent or the lawyer with a copy of the power of attorney. &nbsp;<\/li><li>A copy of government authorised ID proofs.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The Trademark Register will start examining the application along with the documents filled with application. <\/li><li>After the verification is complete and the registry is satisfied, it will publish service mark in the Indian Trade Marks Journal for a period of three months. <\/li><li>Now if any third party has any objection can bring it to the registry within a period of four months from such publication. The Registrar will send a copy of the objection to the applicant. Evidences have to be filled in by both the parties. <\/li><li>Upon the satisfaction, the Registry will approve the registration <\/li><li>A registered service mark is protected for a period of ten years. <\/li><li>A Company can renew the service mark by filling out form TM-12 along with the renewal fee. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Registration_of_Trademark_in_India_%E2%80%93_Service_Mark_and_Trademark\"><\/span>Registration of Trademark in India &#8211; Service Mark and Trademark <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The process for registering a trademark in\nIndia, includes the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Firstly the interested applicant needs to conduct\na trademark search, to check is there is any similar mark already existing or\nnot. <\/li><li>By filling out form TM-A with all the\nrequired documents, the applicant can proceed with the procedure.&nbsp; One can file the application through e-portal\nor in physical form in the office. &nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Document\nrequired for registering a Trademark<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>A copy of the trademark. <\/li><li>Details regaling the service-providing company. <\/li><li>Details regarding the trademark agent or the lawyer with a copy of the power of attorney.&nbsp; <\/li><li>A copy of government authorised ID proofs.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The Trademark Register will start examining the application along with the documents filled with application. <\/li><li>After the verification is complete and the registry is satisfied, it will publish the trademark in the Indian Trade Marks Journal for a period of three months. <\/li><li>Now if any third party has any objection can bring it to the registry within a period of four months from such publication. The Registrar will send a copy of the objection to the applicant. Evidences have to be filled in by both the parties. <\/li><li>Upon the satisfaction, the Registry will approve the registration. <\/li><li>A registered trademark is protected for a period of ten years. <\/li><li>A Company can renew the trademark by filling out form TM-12 along with the renewal fee.  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In India, service marks were not recognised by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Act of 1958. It was the Trade Marks Act of 1999 that recognised the marks and provided them legal protection. The service marks are registered under the Nice Classification of Goods and Services, for classes 35 to 45. &nbsp;A company can have both the marks for their business. As discussed above, the registration process for both service mark and trademark is the same and requires similar documents during the process of registration. When the applicant submits the application for <strong><a class=\"text-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/trademark-registration\">trademark registration<\/a><\/strong>, they can use the symbol TM with the product and when the applicant submits the application for service mark registration, they can use the symbol SM with the service they are providing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read Our Article<\/b>: <mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/online-trademark-registration\/\">Online Trademark Registration: A Detailed Guide<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A company build its brand name generally on the basis of identifiable items such as, logos, sounds, words, colour schemes, and\/or devices; therefore, companies are very meticulous when it comes to protecting their intellectual property (IP) because it holds a high value in today\u2019s economy. In this blog we will discuss the difference between service [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":51584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[2999],"acf":{"service_id":"18"},"authorName":"Astitva Kumar","authorImageUrl":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MicrosoftTeams-image-27.jpg","authorDescription":"Astitva Kumar is an advocate by profession and has completed her BBA. LLB from IP University. She is an avid reader, researcher, and legal writer. Her areas of interest include mediation, conflict resolution, finance, cyber laws, and taxation.","postViews":5725,"readingTime":6,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51583"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54819,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51583\/revisions\/54819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}