Criteria for Selecting Key Elements of a Compound Commercial Name in the Linguistic Expert Examination of a Trademark

The paper is devoted to the problem of linguistic expertise of verbal trademarks, as well as to the search for ways to optimize this procedure. It is shown that one of the most difficult cases of such expertise is the analysis of similarity to the extent of mixing one-word and compound trademarks. In this case, the existing algorithms prescribe to compare the strong elements of such marks for similarity / dissimilarity. However, there are currently no clear and undisputed criteria for determining a strong (or weak) element in a composite designation. This article aims to find criteria based on which a linguist-expert could clearly identify the strong (weak) elements of a composite designation in the process of linguistic examination of a trademark. The article summarizes various approaches to understanding the strong (weak) element in a composite notation. A list of possible criteria for selecting such elements is provided. Examples of specific expertise are used to highlight the possibility of their usage. It is argued that the objective result will be achieved by overcoming the narrow framework of both purely legal and purely linguistic approaches and by synthetic, complex consideration of the problem of comparing single-word and compound trademarks in the process of linguistic expertise.