How to Choose What Trade Mark to Use for My Business

If you are a business in England and interested in choosing a strong registered trade mark, you should be aware of the importance of taking care during the registration process. That way, you can avoid infringing other businesses’ intellectual property rights and also select a trade mark that can represent your brand. In this article, we will discuss how to choose a strong trade mark that embodies your brand identity and provides your company with the best trade mark to grow your business.

How to Choose a Strong Trade Mark?

Trade mark strength depends on the use it has to your business within your areas of industry. You need to decide what you will use your exclusive rights for and how this intellectual property will serve your business. Trade marks can take many forms, including:

• a logo;
• symbol;
• slogan;
• colour;
• word; or
• sound.

When you choose your trade mark, you also select what trade mark classes to register within. Trade mark classes are areas of industry, and there are 45 classes in total. These 45 classes divide into products and services industries, so you can select multiple classes during the registration process.

Meet the Requirements of the Intellectual Property Office

The Intellectual Property Office manages trade mark registration in England. They have strict requirements that you must meet to register your mark successfully. Therefore, you must ensure you meet these successfully and, ideally, only submit one application. You must confirm your trade mark is:

• distinctive;
• not overly descriptive;
• not misleading;
• Inoffensive; and
• not a protected flag or emblem.

These are some of the requirements that the Intellectual Property Office specifies. It can be helpful to seek legal advice to increase the success levels of your application, particularly if you have limited experience with the registration process.

Choose a Trade Mark That Is Not Already a Registered Trade Mark

It is a strict requirement that all registered trade marks must be distinctive and therefore unique among competitors. 

You should conduct a thorough check of all registered trade marks and those currently going through the registration process. Notably, you can ask for legal advice from intellectual property professionals to ensure you complete this research process correctly. If not, it would result in you submitting a worthless application, meaning wasted costs and time for your business.

Choose a Trade Mark Capable of Business Growth and Development

Choosing a strong trade mark is crucial to allow your company to grow and develop around your mark even if you are a new or small business. Trade marks remain registered for 10 years before you must renew them. Therefore, regardless of how new your business is or whether you focus on products or services, you should be aware of how your trade mark represents your goods or services over a 10 year period and possibly beyond.

Trade marks can be extremely valuable assets for any business, with some businesses owning trade marks worth millions of pounds. If your business intends to grow internationally and you envisage your company growing exponentially, you should keep this in mind. Some examples of trade marks worth a great deal include:

• Google, worth over 44 billion dollars;
• Microsoft, worth 42 billion dollars; and
• Walmart, worth 36 billion dollars.

While your company may not currently be at this level, trade mark registration lasts for 10 years. Therefore, you should not ignore intellectual property as a significant asset in your business. As your brand grows and develops, your intellectual property gains financial value and could potentially be one of your greatest assets over time. Accordingly, you should know the power of your exclusive rights and legal protection over your mark. That way, you will be equipped to take legal action against any company that attempts to use your trade mark or a highly similar mark without your consent.

Key Takeaways

Choosing what trade mark to use for your business in England is a process made up of various factors. Your business will need to set objectives for how you intend to develop your company and how your intellectual property can benefit your brand. With this in mind, you can then begin to design your trade mark, whether that be a logo, slogan, colour, or word. It is crucial to meet all the Intellectual Property Office requirements and choose a mark that has not already been registered by another business, as this will result in a wasted application.

If you need help or advice around registering your trade mark, our 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