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As a business, one of the most important markers of your success is your brand. Branding is how you distinguish yourself from others, be it your business name, a slogan or your logo.
If you want to prevent others from using your brand, you should think about registering a trade mark.
Here are 5 things you need to know about registering a trade mark:
1. What is a trade mark?
A trade mark is something that distinguishes your products and services from those of others. It is a valuable asset which represents your business’ brand.
Most commonly, businesses will trade mark the name of the business, a logo, or a slogan, but a trade mark can take many other forms such as a shape, colour, sound or scent.
In short, anything that makes a brand recognisable to consumers is a potential trade mark.
2. To protect a trade mark, you need to register it.
A common misconception is that registering your business name with Companies House prevents others from using that name. Unfortunately, while it’s necessary to register your business name if you’re trading under it, registration not make you the exclusive owner of this name.
Instead, if you want the legal right to stop others from imitating your brand, you need to register it as a trade mark.
In the UK, trade mark registration is administered by a government body called the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
3. Not everything can be trade marked
If your trade mark merely describes your product or service that is commonly used, the IPO won’t let you register it. Also, if an application is too similar to a trade mark that is already registered by someone else, you may not be able to register the trade mark.
To be accepted for registration, a trade mark must be sufficiently distinguishable. You can avoid headaches down the road by doing proper research before applying.
4. The application process
When applying for a trade mark, one of the most important things to think about is the way you describe your trade mark in the application. A trade mark’s description needs to be carefully drafted because it will determine the scope of your registration.
Once you’ve done all the groundwork, the next step is to simply lodge the application with the IPO and pay the application fee. Your application will be examined and then be advertised to give others an opportunity to oppose registration.
5. Cost of registration
The IPO fees are set out on their website.
If your trade mark is an important aspect of your business, it might also be worth engaging a trade mark lawyer. This means that you’ll need to incur further legal fees, but you’ll get your money’s worth if it means having a better understanding of your risks and minimising issues down the track.
The last thing you want is to invest all your time and money into a brand strategy, and find out that there are legal issues you didn’t know about.
Conclusion
If you want to nail your brand strategy, there are many issues you’ll need to navigate. Do some research as you’ll get a better understanding of what you’re trying to protect.
Consulting a trade mark lawyer might be useful, especially if you want to make sure that your trade mark protects you in the way you want it to.
If you’re looking to engage a trade mark lawyer, we have a number of fixed-fee packages depending on what you’re after. Get in touch if you want to find out more!
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