Mark (sign)

A mark is a written or imprinted symbol used to indicate some trait of an item, for example, its ownership or maker. Mark usually consists of letters, numbers, words, and drawings. Inscribing marks on the manufactured items was likely a precursor of communicative writing.

Historically, the marks were used for few purposes:

• declaration of the ownership (an ownership mark, for example, livestock branding);
• identification of the manufacturer and place of origin (manufacturer's mark, maker's mark, later a factory mark);
• differentiation in order to distinguish between similar items (for example, a date mark). These marks are typically useful to distributors;
• certification of the product quality (certification mark, for example, an assay mark).

In the 17th century in the English cloth trade a new class of marks was created, now called trademarks: the cloth was required to contain both the maker's mark (initials of the maker) and the mark of the clothier, indicating the capitalist who furnished the capital for the production.

In the US commercial law, "mark" means either a trademark, a service mark, a collective mark, or certification mark. French Intellectual Property Code defines a mark as "a sign likely to be graphical representation" of the maker.