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If you are a business in England seeking to register a trade mark, you will need to ensure you are not attempting to register something generic or commonplace. If you try to make an application this way, it will be unsuccessful, and you will need to resubmit your application. In this article, we will provide tips to assist you in avoiding registering a generic trade mark.
Why Register Your Trade Mark?
Your trade mark can take many forms including, but not limited to:
- words;
- slogans;
- colours;
- sounds;
- logos; and
- symbols.
Trade marks can either exist as unregistered or registered trade marks. If they are unregistered, it means they have not been registered with the Intellectual Property Office. The main benefit of registration is the ease of protecting your trade mark. Registration makes it easier to:
- prove ownership of the mark;
- prove exclusivity;
- enforce your intellectual property rights;
- deter competitors from using or copying your mark; and
- protect against copycats.
Registering your trademark if you intend to use it in a meaningful way for your business is often advisable.
LegalVision’s Trade Mark Essentials Guide provides valuable information for any business looking to register or enforce a trade mark.
1. Create a Trade Mark That Fits the Criteria
You can be as creative as you like when designing or creating a trade mark. For example, when creating a logo, you should always try to design something unique.
There are rules surrounding what can and cannot register as a trade mark, and you should be aware of these, especially concerning avoiding something generic. A trade mark must be unique and distinctive.
Examples of things to avoid include:
- names;
- simplistic signs, including single letters or numbers;
- promotional slogans that are generic;
- logos or symbols that are commonplace in your area of trade;
- three-letter acronyms;
- purely descriptive wording; and
- simple colour marks.
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2. Conduct a Search of all Online Databases
Once your mark is registered, it will be on an online database related to the Intellectual Property Office. It is possible to search for a trade mark online via this trade mark journal database to check whether a similar trade mark to yours already exists. You can search by using keywords, phrases or images, which is highly useful for ensuring your trade mark is not too generic.
You should seek to avoid attempting to register a similar mark as another business. While you may not see automatic rejection, any owners of similar trade marks will receive notification of your application and will be able to oppose it. Therefore, you can use the search of the database to amend your mark to distinguish it from anything similar.
3. Ensure your Trade Mark is Capable of Growth
Avoid something general or commonplace that not only fails to identify your business but is also not capable of growing as you expand it.. Avoid choosing descriptive words or slogans which are merely descriptive of your products. This is because it will limit your potential to use your mark in various other ways and will be limited to the product you have described. You need to choose a trade mark that can represent your business in a broad geographical way and able to represent your brand’s goods, services and products in a distinctive way that can grow with your business
Your trade mark is your branding tool to help your business and products become trusted and easily recognisable among consumers. Trade mark registration with the Intellectual Property Office lasts for 10 years. Therefore it is advisable to register a mark that has a longevity to represent your business for this amount of time.
4. Choose all Potential Trade Mark Classifications
Trade mark classifications are the trade areas you register your trade mark within. You can register your trade mark in as many classes as you wish, but you will need to pay additional fees for each class.
To avoid a generic mark, you should also pay attention to which classes you are registering your trade mark in to ensure you protect it in all trading areas you work in. If you fail to register in a class important to your business, your trade mark will be open to being copied by competitors, increasing its generic usage in your industry.
Key Takeaways
To successfully register a trade mark it must be unique and distinguishable. Therefore, it is important to avoid generic wording, symbols or any colours that are commonplace. You should search online databases that hold all registered trade marks. This will enable you to find similar trade marks, and you can then amend your draft mark to avoid any strong similarities with other businesses. You should also avoid choosing a trade mark that is not capable of growing with your brand, and over the 10-year registration period.
If you need help with trade mark registration, LegalVision’s experienced intellectual property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Trade marks can take many forms, including words, logos, symbols, colours and slogans. It should be unique; therefore, you should try to be as creative as possible.
Upon successful registration with the Intellectual Property Office, your trade mark will be registered and protected for 10 years. You will have exclusivity over your mark within all areas of trade you have registered in.
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