I.Protect: 7-Eleven

Clint Fabiosa & Ana Liza Villamor

WHAT kind of trademark is “7-Eleven?” Arbitrary, fanciful, or specially-coined words are the strongest kinds of trademarks. This is because at first glance, one could not see any relation between them and the products that they represent. They possess inherent distinctiveness, which makes them easy to register and protect. These marks tend to cling better in the consumers’ minds as product identifiers. Some of the more famous brands belonging to these types of marks are “Nokia,” “Kodak,” and “Xerox.”

Using these types of marks entails costly marketing and advertising programs before
goodwill is created. On the other hand, suggestive and descriptive marks do not need much effort before consumers relate them to their covered products. Examples of suggestive marks are “Ivory,” soap which suggests the ivory-like smoothness of the skin when one uses this soap, “Coppertone” which suggests the sun tan color of the skin when one uses the ointment and, of course, “7-Eleven,” which was used to suggest that the stores are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.