In Short
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Registered trade marks give businesses exclusive rights, making legal enforcement easier and deterring competitors.
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They help build brand identity and visibility in advertising, strengthening consumer trust and reputation.
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Trade marks are valuable assets, increasing sale value, enabling licensing and adding tangible worth.
Tips for Businesses
Register your trade mark with the IPO to gain strong protection, especially if you plan to grow or sell. Use your mark consistently in branding to build recognition, and consider licensing it for extra income.
Table of Contents
- What is a Trade Mark?
- Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Advertising and Marketing
- Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Establishing Your Brand Ethos
- Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Potential Revenue from Trade Marks
- Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Protection From Competitors
- Is Registration Worth It?
- What Cannot Be Registered as a Trade Mark?
- Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions
If you run a business in England, you may wonder what a trade mark is and how its registration might benefit you. This article will explain why trade mark registration is helpful, as well as relevant legal considerations.
What is a Trade Mark?
A trade mark is any distinguishing feature you use that is connected to some aspect of your brand. It can take many forms, including a symbol, logo, phrase, colour palette, or sound. Historically, a trade mark was a sign that was your business’s “badge of origin”, letting customers know that they were purchasing a product or service from your business, as opposed to another business.
Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Advertising and Marketing
Businesses consistently use trade marks for advertising and marketing their products and services. You will regularly see trade marks on television, in newspapers, on product packaging, on social media and advertised on billboards. This is because trade marks are commercial tools to create and enhance a brand’s identity and market reputation.
For example, a popular slogan played on television or radio will reach consumers, who in turn will associate the slogan with the brand. This feature builds legitimacy for the brand and encourages consumers to purchase the product or service from your business rather than a competitor.
As you can therefore see, trade marks can be invaluable tools for building and growing your business presence and persuading consumers to buy from you.
Continue reading this article below the formWhy Trade Marks Are Useful: Establishing Your Brand Ethos
Trade marks have not only the power to identify the origin of a product or service. Businesses also use them to indicate to consumers the values behind the brand.
One example is the fair trade logo, which you have probably seen on food packaging. When consumers see this logo, they immediately identify the product with fairly produced and fairly traded products, often from lower-income countries.
As a trade mark owner, you can use your mark to signify any number of different meanings, including:
- your customer services standards;
- your ethical values;
- your place in the market;
- the pricing of your products or services;
- your efficiency as a company; and
- any campaigns you have been a part of.
Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Potential Revenue from Trade Marks
Trade marks can be extremely valuable assets for the business. It is important to recognise their earning potential, particularly if your business has an established brand. One example of how to earn money from trade marks is from licensing. Licensing involves drafting a contract with another business that permits it to use your trade mark in exchange for payment. You still own the trade mark itself, but the license grants the other party the right to use the trade mark for a specific period of time under certain conditions.
Another primary source of income from trade marks can arise when you sell your business. This is because accounting principles treat trade marks as a form of property. Therefore, you can put a price on the trade mark that informs the purchase price of the business itself. For example, when Topshop was purchased by ASOS in the UK, the deal was valued at £330 million, which was widely reported to be strongly influenced by the trade marks Topshop had registered.
Why Trade Marks Are Useful: Protection From Competitors
Trade marks are capable of registration with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Once you have registered the mark with the IPO, you will gain exclusive rights over your registered trade mark according to the terms of the registration. Your mark will appear on the trade mark register for 10 years, and for that period, you will have the exclusive right to use it for your business. You can also renew your trade mark registrations indefinitely to provide you with longer-term protection. Registration makes legal action against competitors more straightforward, as registration awards your business trade mark protection immediately.
Finally, you should note that you do not have to register your trade mark to protect your rights. Trade marks can exist as unregistered trade marks, but registering your trade mark better protects your claim over the mark because the law makes it more difficult for you to establish a right over unregistered trade marks.
LegalVision’s Trade Mark Essentials Guide provides valuable information for any business looking to register or enforce a trade mark.
Is Registration Worth It?
For most businesses, the costs of applying to register their trade marks are outweighed by the benefits and security that trade mark registrations provide the business.
What Cannot Be Registered as a Trade Mark?
Applying to register a trade mark is a process that takes several months, and applications can be refused. The trade marks that are most likely to be able to achieve registration are those that are not:
- description of the quality, kind, intended purpose, geographical origin or any other characteristic of your goods/services;
- a simple generic marketing or promotional statement;
- an offensive, commonly used, or protected term;
- similar to an existing registered trade mark; or
- similar to an existing unregistered trade mark that has a reputation.
Some marks or aspects of wider branding are also not capable of registration in the UK. For example, the concept of your business, the uniform your staff wear, and the layout of your premises.
Key Takeaways
Trade marks are often used successfully in advertising and marketing strategies by increasing the visibility of a brand in an easily digestible format, such as a logo or slogan. This, in turn, helps businesses establish their reputation with consumers. Trade marks are also helpful for portraying a message that you want associated with your business. You can also license your trade mark to other businesses, which can make them a strong source of revenue.
If you need help deciding whether to file for a registered trade mark for your brand, 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 258 4780 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Trade marks are important tools to use to grow your consumer base and build a strong reputation for your brand. Further, they grant you exclusivity in your areas of industry and therefore provide an important level of protection for your intellectual property.
Trade marks are crucial to forming a strong brand identity as they will not only serve as a strong marketing tool but will also deter other competitors from trying to copy or imitate your products or services once you have registered with the Intellectual Property Office.
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