What type of trademarks are considered generic?

Generic trademarks are terms that describe a general category or class of products rather than identifying a specific source or brand. Therefore, marks that refer to a general class of products and cannot be trademarked fall into this category. A generic term does not distinguish one product from another; instead, it names the product itself. For instance, the term "computer" is generic since it denotes all computers and does not identify a specific brand. Because generic terms do not serve to indicate the source of a product, they are ineligible for trademark protection under the legal framework of the USPTO.

In contrast, trademarks that can be easily trademarked due to uniqueness, descriptive marks for specific products, or invented terms for unique products do not fit the definition of generic. Unique marks may have distinctive qualities that allow them to be trademarked, while descriptive marks might only be protected under certain conditions. Invented terms attain trademark protection due to their novelty. However, generic terms inherently lack distinctiveness and thus do not qualify for trademark registration.