Put simply, trademarks are words or logos that help consumers identify the source of a product or service.  

An example of a trademark is McDonald’s Golden Arches.  That “M” helps you identify McDonald’s as a source of McDonald’s restaurant services, hamburgers, and French fries. 

A registered trademark helps to protect you from other companies infringing on your brand by using similar words or logos that might confuse consumers as to the source of your goods and services.

An example of trademark confusion is if another burger restaurant, not affiliated with McDonald’s, starts using a highly similar large golden M in advertisements. 

In that case, consumers might get confused into thinking they are entering an actual McDonald’s, when, in fact, they are in an entirely different restaurant owned by another company. 

Registering trademarks helps to prevent this confusion so that consumers will only associate your trademarks with your products and services.