Protecting Your Brand: Why Trade Marks Matter and How to Protect Them
Imagine for a moment if no companies and products had any name or branding.
Aside from the commercial world being a far less interesting place, how would anyone know what they were buying, or assess the quality of what they were investing hard earned cash into. In short, how would consumers be able to confidently make a repeat purchase of a product or, avoid a product that left ‘a sour taste’?
A brand, a name and what that means to you are major factors in deciding what you buy as a consumer. If a purchase experience is good, as a consumer you are more likely to purchase that same product or a product from the same entity, feeling confident in the past experience of quality or purpose met. This is how reputation is built.
Imagine now of if any business could legally select any name or branding or logo they chose to put on products they sold or services they offered – the results would be beyond confusing for consumers and efforts of businesses almost worthless without making their mark with their quality and potential reputation amongst consumers.
In place to regulate this and guard against such chaos is the trade mark system.
Registered trade marks not only help you protect your brand as a business but help customers identify the origin and quality of purchases to maintain quality future purchases associated with a specific brand.
Trade mark attorneys at ip21 are experts in drafting trade mark registration applications to give the best coverage for your brand and to alleviate a burden of proving rights when the need arises to enforce the rights against third parties.
A brand like no other
Imagine now receiving a letter from a lawyer, stating that you are obliged to stop using the name of your business or stop selling your product, because their client already owns the rights to that brand (or a brand closely similar to yours) - a brand printed on all your merchandise, that your customers have associated with you for years, that you’ve just paid to have a giant sign of made for your premises. Disputes and rebrands can be lengthy, costly and stressful – as well as often preventable with adequate preparation and if needed, reasonable negotiation to reach an amicable settlement.
Looking objectively, how distinctive do you think your brand is amongst other sellers in your area of trade? Making sure your brand stands out from the crowd helps a smoother trade mark registration and distinguishes you from the competition. This should be a key consideration in your commercial strategy.
Key takeaways
- SEARCH
o Always check your brand is available before you start using it – a professional search will be most thorough and cost-saving down the line.
- IS IT REGISTRABLE?
o Could your brand be considered descriptive, non-distinctive or offensive? Such factors can block registration.
- TRADE MARK YOUR BRAND
o Registered rights are always easier to prove in disputes and put you in a stronger position should a dispute arise.
- INVEST IN PROFESSIONAL HELP
o There’s a significant value difference between the protection of a professionally-written vs a non-professionally written trade mark registration. Infringement and opposition disputes often hang on the specific, fine detail of the text under each class of your specification. Losing disputes can result in obligations to pay money to the opposing party, disposing of stock and rebranding. It’s worth having the best quality registration you can!
A large portion of our business is trying to fix issues that were preventable with sufficient preparation at the outset and particularly at the point of choosing a brand to start with. It’s always cheaper and easier (and less stressful) to prevent problems than fix them!
Our experienced trade mark team offers free initial consultations, including international advice, so contact ip21 today to speak with one of our expert trade mark attorneys for guidance and support.
You’ve put a lot into your products and services, make sure trade marks work to help you protect that investment.
Written by Rachel Daniel for ip21