The brand name is referred to as the trademark, which gives a unique sign or identity to the goods or services an enterprise provides to one or the other. For better protection of your brand identity, it’s best to get the brand registered.
A trademark can be any phrase, word, design, symbol, or combination of all things that identify the goods or services. It’s how customers recognize your product in the marketplace and distinguish it from your competitors. The modes to get the property right in a trademark, are by using the mark, registration act, and getting the right from another person.
The common misconception is that having a trademark is you legally own that particular word or phrase and you can prevent others from using it. You have the right to how the words are put in your goods or service, but not the words.
Trademarking is essential for protecting your brand identity overall. Trademarking will stop competitors from poaching your customers from imitating your brand. It also offers you some protection from those copycats doing any reputation-damaging.
Trademark registration for your product gives you the right to sue anyone who copied your product or goods.
Even though trademark registration is not compulsory, it better protects your company’s goodwill.
In India, any individual, an Indian or a foreign national can readily apply for registering a trademark. Forming a legal body or a corporate entity is not required to write a trademark. Furthermore, the paperwork necessary to register a trademark in a proprietorship’s name is the same as those required to register a trademark in an individual’s name, as follows
A trademark is an intangible asset to a business that adds value to it. It differentiates the product or service from the competitors in the market. Trademarks can resemble the brand as they attract the customer, stand apart, easily identifiable from the rest of the others. Trademark is a marketing tool for your business. A trademark is a sign of company, reputation, and integrity that helps or allows the consumer in purchasing decisions. Like in the real estate business, the value of assets appreciates over a while. Likewise, the value of a trademark grows exponentially as the business grows. Moreover like tangible assets, trademarks can be sold, purchased, or either used as security for obtaining a loan from financial institutions. Therefore, all businesses must protect this valuable asset.
Registration of Trademarks in India is relatively cheap. Once, the application for trademark registration is filed it would take a time about 6 months to 2 years to process the application and grant the trademark certificate based on the government processing. The application is processed on a first come first serve basis. The Trademark application gets rejected if the “mark” proposed is either the same or similar to the “mark” proposed by you. Hence, First come First served is the basis for processing the application for registration of the trademark.
As per the Companies Act, 2013, the name of the company cannot be similar or identical to the registered trademark. This provision may be used to block the names that the company may use in future. A company name cannot be the same or identical to the trademark. So a company can’t be registered under the same name twice. A provision in the Companies Act, 2013 is being used by Entrepreneurs to block company names that they intend to use in their business may be in future. In order to avoid further complications it is important for a business to register their trade mark.
Today’s competitive markets have made advertising and branding a must for any business. Businesses spend on a range of advertising mediums such as digital, newsprint, radio, TV, etc., to promote their brand among consumers. If a brand is not trademarked, there is the possibility of anyone claiming the brand. Therefore, it is important to file a trademark application for the brands before the beginning of advertisement campaigns.
Trademark is the best weapon to be used against unfair competition. In order to avoid your brand be exploit by copycats and counterfeiters in today’s market trademark is most important. A registered trademark is an effective tool against such unfair competition. Under the trademark act, remedies are available to the owner of a trademark for unauthorized use of his or her mark or its imitation by a third party.
Once the trademark is registered it will be valid for the next 10 years. No fee or legal obligations is needed in 10 years period for maintenance purpose. Also just before the expiry of a trademark certificate, it can be renewed just like a passport and the owner can protect the trademark by a third party. If we closely notice, trademark registration is much cheaper than domain registration in the long term and can be maintained forever
The best trademark name should be easy to speak , remember and spell and a unique combination of words and geometrical make a trademark best. Avoid laudatory words and common names. To know any similar or same names are there in the market conduct a market survey.
There are four function in trademark for the modern business conditions
Follow the below steps to Check Trademark Status of yours.
™ means its a unregistered trademark and used only for the promotion purpose. Where as ® indicated that the trademark is registered as well as its service.
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