A trademark is a distinct identity that sets your company, product, or service apart from the competition. A registered trademark is your company's intellectual property/intangible asset. It protects the investment you've made in creating consumer trust and loyalty.
The registration allows you to sue anyone who attempts to imitate your trademark and forbids others from using a trademark that is identical to the one you registered.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a sign, symbol, or phrase used to identify a specific product or service. It aids in legally distinguishing the product or service from all others. A trademark acts as an exclusive identification for a company's unique product or service. It also serves as proof of the company's ownership of the brand. A product with a trademark is considered the property of the corporation that owns it.
What are the benefits of trademark registration?
In theory, registering a trademark grants the owner the exclusive right to use the registered trademark. This indicates that the trademark can be used exclusively by the owner or licensed to another party for usage in exchange for a fee. Registration gives legal clarity and strengthens the right holder's position
- Exclusive rights: The owner of a registered trademark will have exclusive rights to the trademark. The owner may use the same trademark for all products in the same class (es). Having exclusive rights to a product also permits the owner to restrict any unlawful use of the trademarked item.
- Company recognition: Having a trademark makes it easier for prospective customers to recognize the company. The brand quickly becomes well-known.
- Differentiating items: Trademarking allows people to readily learn about things. They can quickly distinguish between different types of things because the products have a distinct identity of their own.
- Building trust and goodwill: The quality of the company's products or services will assist it in gaining certain loyal customers. A trademark will help it gain a better reputation among all clients in the market.
- Increasing sales: Customers associate a company's brand name with the quality of the product or service that they deliver. This picture of the product is widely disseminated in the market, which helps to increase sales by drawing more and more buyers to the goods.
- Using the registered sign: Once the trademark is registered, the company can use the registered symbol (®). The logo indicates that the trademark has already been registered and cannot be used by another person or company. In the event of unlawful use, the owner of the trademark may opt to sue the other party.
- Intangible asset creation: When a trademark is registered, it becomes an intangible asset that can be sold, franchised, assigned, or commercially contracted. A trademark is the organization's intellectual property.
- Protection against infringement: Registering a trademark ensures that the trademarked object is not utilized unethically by any other company or person. However, if the trademark is used by a third party without the owner's authorization or agreement, the owner can seek legal protection for the act and even sue the person who used the trademark deceptively.
- Issuance of the trademark registration certificate: If no objections are raised against the name within the time frame specified, the name will be processed, and the Registrar will issue the Registration Certificate, which will be signed and sealed by the Trademark Registry.
What kind of trademarks is available for registration?
A trademark might be a single word or a collection of words, letters, and numbers. However, trademarks can also be drawings, symbols, three-dimensional aspects such as the design and packaging of items, non-visible indications such as sounds or aromas, or color tints utilized as distinguishing qualities — the possibilities are nearly unlimited.
What is the term of Trademark?
The duration for a Trademark is ten years, although the mark can be kept on the Register indefinitely by renewing it every ten years. It is possible to assign and license the same.
Documents required for filling out the Trademark registration application:
- Proof of registration of the business
- Soft copy of the trademark.
- Applicant’s duly-signed power of attorney.
- The applicable proof of claim.
- Allotment of the trademark application
- Scrutiny of the brand name application
- Indian Trade Mark journal publication
- Issuance of the trademark registration certificate