05/11/2022
Trademark is the legalized identity of your brand, company, product, or service. The first thing that marks the beginning of a company is naming it. After you name the company or your brand, follow the process of registration of a trademark. Registering your trademark will help others identify your brand.
What is Trademarking and Trademark Registration?
To understand better what trademark and trademark registration is, here is an example.
Amazon is the trademark name of the eCommerce brand. Registering the name Amazon means no other brand can use the name Amazon for their brand/service/company/product. The name is unique to Amazon only.
Now, if you are forming a company or creating a brand, it is crucial to follow the process of registration of trademark in different countries. Without registering the brand name, you run the risk of losing it to some other person.
Since trademarks are classified as intellectual property, they are protected from infringement.
Trademark is not just the name. It can be anything and everything like logos, designs, graphics, signs, and even an expression or voice that represent the brand.
IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
Trademark is a unique symbol or sign that represent a brand. It can be a label, or picture, or numeral, or combination of all of these that help in identification of goods or services. The process of registration of globally trademark is important because, it enables you and a third party to distinguish your products and services through your trademark.
Trademarks differentiate your products and services from those belonging to your competitor. With everything being said, keep in mind that geographical names, common names, common trade words and common abbreviation cannot be registered as a trademark.
Registration of Trademarks has several advantages and benefits to the owner:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION
After trademark registration, Trademarks will be classified as intellectual property and are therefore protected from infringement. Moreover, once the process of registration of trademark is complete, you can use trademarks in relation to the “Class” of goods or service it represents. In the case of unauthorized use of your registered trademark by any other brand or company, you can seek relief for infringement in appropriate courts in the country.
POWERFUL DETERRENT
Once you complete the process of registration of trademark, you can use the ‘R’ (®) symbol on your brand logo or name (whichever is registered). It will tell others that your brand name is registered. You may also have noticed the use of TM logo, which one obtains after the trademark application is filled, but has not yet been approved.
Registration of Trademarks would mean that the brand name, logo, graphics, slogan, whatever you have trademarked, will appear in the trademark search done by others. It would essentially mean that others cannot use the name or the logo for their brand that you have registered for yours.
LEGAL PROTECTION AND REMEDIES
Completing the process of registration of trademark in will ensure safety against infringement on intellectual property like brand name, slogan, logo, images, graphics, and other creatives. If you find someone using your trademarked name, you can legally sue them and recover the three times the damage caused by the violation. By trademarking, the trademark owner receives the presumption of being the valid owner of the mark. Further, it increases the likelihood of the successful filing of a dispute resolution policy for an infringing Internet domain name.
CREATION OF AN ASSET
When you create a company, you create a cash flow. You contribute to the economy and also create an asset for yourself. Similarly, the brand name is your asset and by following the process of registration of trademark, you solidify the intellectual asset.
BUSINESS VALUATION AND GOODWILL
With the creation of online and offline asset, your company name creates a brand. The process of registration of trademark helps your brand create business valuation and goodwill.
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION:
The trademark recognition by following the process of registration of trademarks helps businesses create a product differentiation. Your customers and competitors, or any other third party for that matter, can differentiate your brand and its products from other products in the market.
