Trademark registration
Any word, design, logo, or combination of these used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify goods made or sold, or services provided in Alaska, may be registered by filing an application for state trademark registration. The filing fee is $50.00 per class of goods or services being registered.
You are strongly advised to conduct a thorough search of your mark before filing. If you require assistance, you are advised to seek the services of an attorney or other qualified professional specializing in the area of trademark law.
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/Corporations/TrademarkRegistration.aspx
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/pub_corp/08-547.pdf
A trademark identifies the brand owner of a particular product or service. Trademarks can be licensed to others; for example, Bullyland obtained a license to produce Smurf figurines; the Lego Group purchased a license from Lucasfilm in order to be allowed to launch Lego Star Wars; TT Toys Toys is a manufacturer of licensed ride-on replica cars for children. The unauthorized usage of trademarks by producing and trading counterfeit consumer goods is known as brand piracy.
The owner of a trademark may pursue legal action against trademark infringement. Most countries require formal registration of a trademark as a precondition for pursuing this type of action. The United States, Canada and other countries also recognize common law trademark rights, which means action can be taken to protect an unregistered trademark if it is in use. Still common law trademarks offer the holder in general less legal protection than registered trademarks.
A trademark may be designated by the following symbols:
- ™ (the “trademark symbol”, which is the letters “TM”, for an unregistered trademark, a mark used to promote or brand goods)
- ℠ (which is the letters “SM” in superscript, for an unregistered service mark, a mark used to promote or brand services)
- ® (the letter “R” surrounded by a circle, for a registered trademark)
A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising marks which do not fall into these standard categories, such as those based on color, smell, or sound (like jingles). A trademark cannot be offensive.
The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by which an individual is readily identified, such as the well-known characteristics of celebrities. When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark