If I asked you what your knowledge of trademarks was, would you be able to say, with confidence, that you have an intimate knowledge of the subject? The thing is, not a lot of people know what trademarks are, what their purposes is and why we need them.
By now you will have probably come up with an answer to the above question, but if your answer is “no, I don’t know much about trademarks”, today is your lucky day because this blog post will tell you everything you need to know about the wonderful world of trademarks.
Trademarks? What are they?
Unless you have been living under a rock your whole life, you will doubtless have seen products and brand names with a registered trademark symbol next to them (i.e. “®”). The purpose of a trademark is to differentiate products and brand names between different owners.
For example, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola each have registered trademark symbols by their brand names to prove that there is a difference between their drinks (and trust me; anyone that has tasted both colas will tell you that they don’t taste the same)!
What can trademarks be applied to?
Traditionally, trademarks are used to protect a single word or number of words, but they can also be used to protect unique shapes and colours.
Trademarks can only be issued to applicants where there is a certain distinction on the products or brand names concerned.
To use our examples above, if you created a unique brand of cola, you would be refused a registered trademark if you wanted to call it Coca-Cola, but you might have a better chance with “Dave’s Awesome Cola”, for instance!
How can trademarks protect my brand or its products?
Assuming that you have used a firm such as London IP to help you successfully apply for one or more trademarks, if someone comes along one day and blatantly steals your brand identity and claims it to be their creation, you will be within your legal rights to sue them.
In reality, the only time you hear about such cases occurring is if a global corporation has introduced a new product to the market and some obscure and unknown small business sues them because they registered the name first.
Other benefits of trademark protection
As a by-product, if you are trying to pitch for business through well-known High Street retailers, you are more likely to be taken seriously if your products and their branding have trademark protection.
That is because they want to minimise the risk of being sued by other people claiming they have used their brand or product names without their permission.
If such an event were to occur with a brand name or product that has a registered trademark, the complainants can take the matter up with the relevant party rather than the retailer.
How long do registered trademarks last?
Trademarks in most parts of the world last for 10 years, but the good news is that you can renew them without having to go through the entire application process again. If you need a trademark for your business startup, you might want to consult an expert trademark lawyer for necessary steps in creating one.
