Collective trade mark

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A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such as an association), used by its members to identify themselves with a level of quality or accuracy, geographical origin, or other characteristics set by the organization.

Collective trademarks are exceptions to the underlying principle of trademarks in that most trademarks serve as "badges of origin"; they indicate the individual source of the goods or services. A collective trademark, however, can be used by a variety of traders, rather than just one individual concern, provided that the trader belongs to the association.

Collective trademarks differ from certification marks. The main difference is that collective trademarks may be used by particular members of the organization which owns them, while certification marks may be used by anybody who complies with the standards defined by the owner of the particular certification mark. All these factors are being completely at the level of intellectual property.^[1]