Answer ... Trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks and slogans serve all as identifiers under the law. Trademarks can be in graphical or three-dimensional form; smells and sounds can also function as trademarks.

Anything that has the capacity to serve as an identifier and that can be graphically represented may constitute a trademark.

Answer ... To function as a trademark, a designation or other identifier must be able to be represented graphically. As such, all types of marks mentioned in question 2.1 constitute a mark, as they can all be graphically represented (for smells or sounds, the chemical formula or the stave with the specific notes, respectively, will suffice).

Answer ... Elements that cannot function as marks include:

• the names, flags, emblems and symbols of state, national or regional bodies or international organisations; and
• marks that are ineligible under absolute grounds for refusal, such as generic and descriptive marks, and marks that contravene public order and good morals.