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If you are a business in England and considering registering your trade mark, you will need to determine the most effective type of mark to represent your brand. A registered trade mark acts as a helpful business identifier and provides you with exclusive rights. In this article, we will discuss how to guarantee the best and most effective trade mark for you and your business.
The Types of Trade Marks Available
You can choose whether to have an unregistered trade mark or a registered trade mark, but they can take a wide variety of forms, including:
- logos;
- slogans;
- phrases;
- words;
- colours; and
- symbols.
Intellectual property is a valuable asset due to the exclusive rights it grants your brand. You will already be aware of registered trade marks that are effective brand identifiers, such as the:
- Mcdonald’s slogan ‘I’m lovin’ it’;
- Apple symbol;
- Nike tick logo; and
- Microsoft logo.
Their effectiveness is partly due to their design and how their owners use them. You should seek to use your trade mark to its greatest ability as there are multiple uses you can take advantage of. For example, you can use your trade mark for:
- marketing campaigns;
- advertising;
- product labelling;
- expanding into different jurisdictions through international trade marks; and
- building your reputation among consumers.
It is crucial to understand the potential your trade mark has for helping to develop your business.
The Importance of Choosing a Distinctive Trade Mark
To successfully register your trade mark with the Intellectual Property Office in England or abroad in certain countries, you must prove your mark is distinctive in your area(s) of industry.
Trade marks are tools to identify your business and highlight your brand in a crowded market of competitors. Therefore, for your mark to be effective, distinctiveness is critical. You can make your trade mark distinctive by making it
- creative;
- memorable; or
- imaginative.
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Protecting Your Business Against Infringement
The more distinct your trade mark is, the stronger your registration protection will be. This is because it will be more difficult for a competitor to argue their mark is not similar to yours if it is unique in your industry. Therefore, the greater your trade mark can demonstrate a distinctive character, the more effective it will be if you have to challenge another business for intellectual property infringement.
Communicate With Consumers
Trade marks are vital tools to communicate with your consumer base. They can convey your company’s reputation as well as the goods and services you offer. If you have a strong reputation in your industry, a logo, for example, would act as an identifier of your reputation.
An effective trade mark is one that conveys a message you want to be received by your target customer. This does not mean limiting your trade mark to words or phrases. Any symbol, colour, or logo can act as a very effective tool for conveying a message.
Trade Marks Are Assets
Intellectual property, in all forms, has the potential to be a precious asset for any business and can increase in value over time as your business grows. When companies sell their business to others, it is often the intellectual property, such as trade marks that demand the highest price percentage of the total sale.
Therefore, an effective trade mark must be one that represents your business in terms of what it offers for it to appear attractive to potential purchasers. That way, there is an evident reputation attached to your trade mark, which is useful if you are considering selling your business in the long term.
Growing and Developing With Your Business
Another key feature of an effective trade mark is the ability to grow and develop with your business. Once you have successfully registered your trade mark with the Intellectual Property Office, your registration will last for ten years and will then need to be renewed. You can continue to renew your trade mark every ten years when it is approaching expiry.
Therefore, an effective trade mark will be one that can continually represent your brand as it grows and develops. Your mark should be designed in a way that allows you to expand your goods or services. If your design is too narrow, it may not cater to you in the future if you intend to expand your different goods or services.
Key Takeaways
Trade marks vary in effectiveness, but if you are considering registering your trade mark with the Intellectual Property Office, you should consider how to increase your mark usage. You will be required to prove your trade mark is distinctive in character when you apply for registration, and this unique character will increase your mark’s effectiveness.
If you need help or advice around registering your trade mark or the application process, 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
Your trade mark must be unique and distinctive and can be a word, phrase, slogan, sound, logo, symbol, colour, or any combination of these. You are encouraged to be creative to increase your mark’s distinctive character and set yourself apart from competitors.
You must file an application and pay a fee to the Intellectual Property Office. Each application varies in complexity, but it is advisable to seek legal advice during the process to avoid a wasted application and increase the overall efficiency of the process.
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