From Kimono, through #KimOhNo, to Skims: A branding nightmare for Kim Kardashian
#KimOhNo became a symbol of the backlash to Kim Kardashian’s attempt to register a trademark for her new line of shape wear, Kimono.
Does how I write my brand name matter when registering a trademark?
Written by Tomas Orsula
Senior Trademark Attorney
If we are talking about registering your brand name as a wordmark, then capital letters, spaces, etc., have little to no effect on the registrability of your trademark. The way you write your brand name would have to lend it a new layer of interpretation to influence its distinctiveness (i.e. create a pun or other type of secondary meaning).
If we are talking about writing your brand name in a specific font, including stylistic elements, etc., this visual representation of your brand name can have an impact; however, you would have to register this visual form as a figurative (logo) trademark, which would protect this combination of textual and graphical elements together rather than just your brand name.
You can learn more about the difference in our article Name versus logo as a trademark.
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