Distinctive design, graphics, logo, symbols, words, or any combination thereof that uniquely identifies a firm and/or its goods or services, guarantees the item's genuineness, and gives it owner the legal rights to prevent the trademark's unauthorized use. A trademark must be distinctive instead of descriptive,affixed to the item sold, and registered with the appropriate authority to obtain legal ownership and protection rights. Trademark rights are granted usually for 7 to 20 years and, unlike in case of patents, are renewable indefinitely.