5 Things To Know Before You Register Your Trademark
What is a Trademark?
A Trademark is a sign capable of differentiating the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are safeguarded through intellectual property rights, thus they are the most important part of your business. Though, if you’re like several small business owners, you might not be exactly sure what a trademark is or how to protect it.
Below are the few facts you must know to clear up the misunderstandings related to the TRADEMARKS!
What is a Business Trademark?
For identifying a business or a firm a trademark is used as a word, phrase, symbol or sound that sets it apart from competitors. One may trademark a business name, tagline, logo or packaging. Let’s understand the concept clearly through an example, the Coca-cola company has trademarks for the name “Coke, “the word “Coca-Cola” written in white script on a red background, the phrase “It’s the Real Thing, “the curvy shape of a Coke bottle.
Trademarks are essential as they offer you a legal way to avoid other businesses from using marks that are confusingly similar to yours. A confusingly similar mark signifies or sounds similar to yours and is used on a same type of goods or services so that people are likely to be confused about the source of those goods or services. Just by using your trademark in your business, you can get a weak from of trademark protection in your local area. Although to trademark a name with nationwide protection and the right to enforce your trademark in federal court, you should register these trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
MAJOR THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE YOU TRADEMARK
Ensure your trademark isn’t already taken | For the verification, Use Legal Zoom or the US Patent and Trademark Office website |
Register your domain name | Just a few bucks and it trumps all the cyber squatters who troll the internet registering domain names as same to the famous one to see for inflated sum of money. |
Know your rights | Congress passed and former President Bill Clinton signed the Anti-cybersquatting Consumers Protections Act into the Law in November 1999. |
Still, you can use a TM (trademark) or SM (service market) without registering with the USPTO. | You can protect your trademark law by registering the mark so that you can bring action in court if required be. |
Make a Trademark Registration Application in India
Select your Trademark wisely
You need to be clear that your mark is able to differentiate your firm. If you are yet to begin a business or it is very new, you require to select your mark wisely. Whereas few start ups find it not that difficult to correlate to the famous brand, well, it is not a fair practice. You need to think term here.
Try to make it original and duplication free whether it is your name or logo. However, for advertising motive, you may like to go with a generic or a common name, it is not that kind.
You may even want to make it unique. Also a near resemblance to any existing brand in your work field is a mistake for your application. If you would like to save both brand name and logo, you can be cost-effective. Once can make application for both-name and logo under a single application. The situation is to have a name of the brand in the logo. You might be directed to select only one of them in the cases of inconsistency.
Select colour logo
A big question that strikes to every applicant is- whether to apply logo in colors or in black and white? Worry not! You will be knowing the answer of this question yourself after reading this.
You are safeguarding your logo in a particular combination of colors with a colored logo. Proceeding further, you cannot utilize with distinctive colors and seek its protection. Using ™ or ® mark is not permitted with other patterns. For the protection of the logo with different color scheme, you should file a new registration application. This also incurs the cost of Government and professional fee.
This scenario is not of a black and white logo. You can best utilize the color schemes with this filing. As you are protecting the logo pattern without any particular colors, you can utilize any colors in the trade. Specifically, start ups and business enterprises with astoundingly changing trends adopt this approach. It helps them to be cost-effective.
The color schemes with differentiation are simply identifiable. Therefore, it needs the protection as well. Let’s take an example; the Red color scheme and Yellow scheme of McDonald’s is simply identified and safeguarded in facilitated manner.
You should be able to recognize the business requirements and select the options being the best judge of your business enterprise. You can even consult an attorney for a professional help in the particular matter.
Class and Description to support long-term objectives
As you make a note of registering a trademark, the first and the foremost step is to check out appropriate class for trademark protection. The trademark registry has facilitated 45 classes in total for particular services and details. Select the most appropriate class depending upon your business activity. You might apply for multiple classes for registration if you look out for more than one related classes. You can safeguard your brand name or logo only under the class it is applied for. This even applies for the explanation facilitated in the application.
Each class implements to the particular description of goods and services. Well, you need to explain the goods and services while making an application. You might select the given description as per the requirement. Although, you need to understand that you cannot change the class and description after filing an application. Proceeding further, you must not restrict the explanation. Along with this, you can even cover other products under the long term plan. This makes your application cost-efficient and also facilitates proper protection.
Be aware of the Correct Symbol
There are numerous symbols in the intellectual property laws, such as the TM, SM and ® for trademarks and the © for copyrights. The applicant should be well-versed with the TM symbol in case of goods and SM for services beside his trademark in the scenario of the application for trademark registration has been made. The ® symbol can be used while after the registration of the applied trademark. Utilizing the right symbol is essential to give the correct message to the public at large.
Make sure to not to invest on weak Trademarks
For getting the trademark registered and then making it famous, a lot of investment is needed to be made. However, the applicant will have to make sure to go-through the trademark guidelines and choose the powerful name capable of getting registered. Making investments in weak trademarks can make you end up in the pool of troubles with no advantages.
Conclusion
Before going ahead with the trademark registration, make sure to keep the above points in mind and also read the full articles know about Trademark in a complete explanation!
