Which of the following marks is most likely to be accorded exclusive registration in accordance with intellectual property laws?

• A. The trademark SHINEE for floor wax.
• B. The trademark INSTAGLUE for adhesive glue that has been manufactured and sold in the Philippines for three years now.
• C. The tradename ROPE FACTORY, INC. For manufacturer of ropes and strings.
• D. The trademark RHEUMAPAS for medicated plaster.

Answer: (D)

A mark can be registered exclusively when it is distinctive enough to identify the source of the goods or services and is not merely describing them. In trademark practice, coined or fanciful terms—those that don’t convey a product’s features—are the strongest candidates for exclusive registration, while descriptive terms generally face barriers unless they have acquired a strong secondary meaning.

RHEUMAPAS fits best because it’s a coined term that doesn’t describe the medicated plaster’s function or use. Its uniqueness makes it more readily distinguishable as a source identifier, so it’s the most likely to receive exclusive registration. The other names are more descriptive or suggestive of the product or business: SHINEE evokes shine, which can be seen as linking to the floor-wax attribute; INSTAGLUE explicitly describes Instant Glue, a descriptively descriptive feature that often requires evidence of acquired distinctiveness; ROPE FACTORY, INC. states the business activity and uses a corporate form, which is typically weaker as a trademark in terms of exclusive registrability unless it has developed distinctiveness from use.