Can You Trademark Hot Dog?

Is your trademark distinctive?

What I’d like to talk to you about today is trademarks, and what is a trademark, and could you trademark ‘hot dog’?

Well, let’s look at something as an example. Take Nike. Nike has the Nike trademark, the name of the brand. The tick symbol, so that’s their key image, as well as a catch phrase, Just Do It.

That’s three really good examples of what makes them distinct from every other brand in sports apparel. They’re not Adidas and you know that as a result of their branding. They’re not Reebok. You can clearly differentiate their products due to their branding.

And that’s the key to identifying a trademark. You can’t use something that’s just generic.

So if you wanted to call your business ‘Sports Apparel’, obviously you’re not going to be able to trademark that because it’s in general usage and it doesn’t show you as any different from any other sports apparel provider. Adding a geographical tag like ‘Sports Apparel UK’ isn’t going to cover it either. It has to be something distinctive.

So, could you trademark ‘hot dog’? No.

Could you trademark ‘Big Cheesy New Yorker’ as a hot dog brand? Possibly. As a brand? Possibly.

That’s what you’ve got to look at. What makes your brand distinctive and does that make it worthwhile trademarking?