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[rlr]

I have a business name I would like to make into a brand. It would encumber a variety of different class of goods and services. Question: should the business name be filed as a trademark or servicemark?

Think of virgin. Virgin has many areas of products and services with it's virgin name in every one. (virgin air, virgin records..etc)

Thanks, Ron

[Kaitlin]

I think you mean "encompass", not "encumber"?

When you use your business name as a mark (that is, as a "brand"), whether or not that name is categorized as a trademark or a service mark depends on whether you are selling goods or services.    If you do both, then it's a trademark as applied to the goods and a service mark as to the services.

Note that what you are doing when you "file" is to register the existing trademark/service mark.  The "filing" does not create the trademark/service mark.  Use as a mark creates the mark.  Anytime you use your name as a mark (that is, not to identify your business as a business entity, but to identify your goods or services as coming from one common source), then you are making a trademark use of the name.  And when you are making a trademark use of the name, it is a good idea to apply the little "TM" or "SM" notice to the name to tell the world you are claiming this as your mark.  (SM for Service Mark, but if you're confused, TM will do for both.) 

Once you file and are issued a registration for your mark, then you can use the (R) symbol (for "Registered" mark). 

Registration increases your protection for your mark, but registration doesn't create the mark.


(Re for your "virgin" example:  I believe all those examples you cite are cases of different companies using the same name as a mark in different areas of commerce, which is not quite the same situation as in your inquiry about what classes to include in your registration for one company.  )
And if you're thinking of an Intent to Use application (ITU), you need to know that you will need to be actually using the mark in the classes you claim in order to register the mark in those categories.