Simply said, a trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, or illustration, or a combination of these things. It allows you – regardless if you are a person or a legal entity – to associate it with specific goods and/or services. Once granted, it can be used in many business areas, and protects you from having your intellectual property illegally copied. It’s also a great tool to gain recognition in the marketplace and set you apart from your competitors.
You can apply for any trademark name that can be represented graphically. However, to make sure it gets registered, your trademark needs to be creative or unique, setting you apart from your competitors. The more generic or descriptive the trademark is for your area of expertise, the less likely it will be that it gets registered.
A Logo is generally a symbol or graphical image that describes the business. It helps the businesses to have a quick and unique recognition in the market. It is a common perception that a Logo is a Trademark. However, you must know that compared to the logo, the trademark acts as a protection for your it. In other words, trademark registration provides you legal rights to exclusively use your logos. In fact, trademarks can be much more than a simple illustration. They come in a variety of forms, including words, sounds, multimedia images or even holograms, depending on each jurisdiction.
A Trademark Availability Search is a report that aims to assess your chances of a successful trademark registration. You can think of it as the first step in any trademark registration or brand launch strategy. With the information included in this report, you have a quick and simple way to assess the availability of your chosen brand, in your field of business. More so, we can check the availability of both national and international databases. It takes time, resources and money to create and launch distinctive and effective brands. To be on the safe side, it’s better to have an airplane view of your desired trademark’s availability, before starting to use it register it. Not only do you make the most out of your money and commercial efforts, but you also make sure you do not infringe other’s rights.
In most jurisdictions, the following information is required for a trademark application:
– The trademark wording or an image of the trademark if it has graphical elements.
– The Nice Classes in which the trademark is to be filed.
– A description of goods or services for which the trademark is to be filed. Each good or service needs to be included in the respective Nice Classes previously chosen.
– Details of the trademark owner: full name, company type if the owner is a company, and full address. Some jurisdictions will ask for a copy of the certificate of incorporation, passport or identification of the owner.
– Some jurisdictions may require a Power of Attorney. In such cases, the applicant must comply with local requirements regarding this document.
International registration is not mandatory. However, you do need to consider whether or not your brand will expand in the future to other countries. Successful trademark registrations are done proactively to make sure your brand development strategy goes seamlessly. You do need to consider that some jurisdictions may require specimens of use – or proof that you are already using the trademark – before filing.
The timeframe for registering your trademark can be different for each country or region. EU trademarks typically get registered anywhere between 4 to 6 months, while US trademarks can take up to 18 months.
Prior to filing your trademark application, you need to define the goods and/or services you intend to use it for. The Nice classification (NCL) is a standard system used by most countries internationally to define these goods and services and categorize them in specific classes. There are 45 trademark classes of protection, with classes 1 through 34 being used for goods, while classes 35 through 45 for services.
In some jurisdictions, the fact that you own a specific domain name may count as proof of use for a denomination. As such, it may help in registering a trademark. However, owning a domain name is not sufficient in terms of overall legal protection. A trademark adds value to your company and gives you exclusive rights to use a certain wording.
During the course of registering your trademark, third parties may object, most of the time on the basis of similarity. An objection is not equivalent with a rejection – some disputes are settled amicably, through friendly negotiations, while others will end up in court or in front of Intellectual Property offices. Should these incidents arise, our team can assist you throughout these procedures, on demand.
Owning a trademark gives you the presumed right to the exclusive use of the trademark, as well as presumed validity, in case of a lawsuit. Other advantages include using the ® symbol, which can considerably increase your value on the market and discourage others from trying to also use the same name.
In trademark conflicts, different strategies should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Some disputes are settled amicably, through friendly negotiations, while others will end up in court or in front of Intellectual Property offices. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding third parties using your trademark, feel free to contact us.
The color of the logo included in your trademark application will depend on the jurisdiction where you intend to apply, and if you wish to claim color. In some areas, if you submit a trademark in color you will automatically be claiming the colors included in the graphical representation.
In most cases, we recommended not to claim color in a trademark application, so that you can use your trademark in as many combinations of colors you need.
The age-old expression “use it, or lose it” is applicable in the world of trademark rights in almost all territories. You must use trademarks in commerce in order to retain the protected status of the trademark. When trademarks are not used for long periods of time, and trademark owners have no intention of using the trademark in the future, the trademark can become abandoned.
Intellectual Property Offices like the one from the US require trademark owners to file proof of their trademark use at certain time dates (i.e. continued use must also be re-established when renewing a trademark registration every 10 years).
In most cases, it is not recommended to use the ® symbol if your trademark has not been registered. Some jurisdictions even see this false or misleading use as grounds for unfair competition claims, which can lead to unwanted disputes and loss of money. However, once you’ve applied to register your trademark, untill the registration certificate is granted, you are entitled to use the TM symbol next to your trademark.
