Some key questions to ask when assessing your shortlist of brand names include:

• Is it a common term in your industry?
  It is possible for your brand to use a common term so long as you operate in a sector where that term is not commonly used. For example, Diesel functions as a brand and trademark in the clothing and fashion sector, but would not be accepted as a trademark for diesel, the fuel. The same applies to Apple for computers.
  

• Is the term generic?
  While many marketers admire the success of brands such as ‘google’ in becoming part of everyday language, trademark practitioners routinely caution brand and trademark owners against using brand names as nouns or verbs for risk that they might become generic terms. As a general rule, once a brand name becomes accepted as a common description of the type of goods or services to which the mark is applied, it will not be eligible for trademark registration.
  

• Is it a neologism?
  You could opt to combine two words to form a brand name that is eligible for protection as a trademark. Creating a new word in this way can often deliver highly distinctive brand names. However, the fact that the resulting word can’t be found in a dictionary is no guarantee alone that it can be registered as a trademark (e.g. if it is clearly a combination of two descriptive terms).
  

• Have you opted for an acronym?
  While brand names such as KFC or DHL are instantly recognisable because of their longevity in the market, such three-letter trademarks are generally quite difficult to remember and enforce against similar marks.
  

• Does the name mean something in another language?
  Be careful here too that you don’t choose a word that has a negative meaning in a foreign language, as carmaker Ford famously found to its cost when launching the Ford Pinto in Brazil.
  

• Does the mark include a graphic element?
  It is possible to satisfy the requirement for distinctiveness by adding a graphic element to a descriptive name; however, the addition must add something ‘extra’ to the mark. For example, a picture of a kiwi fruit added to the word ‘KIWI’ would not make the mark distinctive for fruit (as it simply makes it even more descriptive), but adding a non-related device, such as complex geometric shape, might. However, it is important to also note that the resulting trademark right will then only cover the trademark in totality, rather than the elements individually. It would never enable you to stop others selling kiwi fruit and calling them kiwi fruits.
  

• Is the brand and trademark in extensive use?
  Finally, if it can be shown that the mark has become established in a market due to long-term and/or extensive use, you may be able to obtain trademark registration despite a lack of distinctiveness in your chosen brand name. To do this, you must prove that the sign has been used so extensively that your consumers perceive it as an indication of the origin of the goods and not as a description of the mark. While this is not easy to achieve, it can be done by demonstrating the market share of the brand, and the intensity, geographical spread and duration of the use of the mark. Audi obtained registration of the descriptive German phrase ''VORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK'' (advancement through technology) on that basis.

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The assessment of a mark’s distinctiveness can often be subjective. However, it is possible to assess the feasibility of registration for a chosen brand name by reviewing it for descriptive and distinctive elements. It is also important to check that the mark is available for use prior to any brand launch.