Trademarking Essentials

Trademark registry

Did you know a trademark is a brand, logo, business name or trading name? Simply having registered your business with Companies House does not protect you. We have been creating brands for over 40 years and in that time have amassed a considerable amount of experience regarding trademark registry. We do not register trademarks that we have not created but we work with professional legal partners who support and guide us in application and changes in the law.

Why register a trademark?

Trademarks are an asset

Much like property, trademarks can be sold, reassigned to others and licensed out. If you have a growing business the value of your trademark can also grow.

Registration means ownership of your trade mark is presumed

Protecting you trademark without registration means you will have to prove ownership. This is not an easy task. Having a registered trade mark means you do not have to provide evidence unless of course that evidence to contrary is provided to you.

Someone else can register your trade mark

If you do not have enough evidence of goodwill or are a new company then you may not be able to stop a competitor from using a similar or the same trade mark as your own.

Registry will put off others from copying

Competitors in the same or similar service industry will be dissuaded from copying your trademark where they could be held liable.

Can be awarded loss of profits or damages

You can protect your trade mark where someone in the same or similar goods or services tries to register or use the same or similar trademark.

Checking saves potential cases against you

It’s good practice to conduct a search of registered or trade marks that are pending registration on the Intellectual Property register. If it is found that there are other trade marks in use or registered you could save yourself a lot of money. Nobody wants to be sued for infringement or conduct a massive rebrand whilst already neck deep with customers.

Common law search

These searches can also indicate whether traders or competitors that may already be using the same or similar trade mark.

UK registration is a good basis for International registration

If you intend to take your business to global markets it is a good idea to carry out a European and/or international search at the time of registering your UK trade mark. (We can help you with that too).

You can use the ‘R’ registration symbol on your branding

It is against the law to use this symbol unless you have registered your trade mark. Yes it’s a deterrent but it also inspires trust and authority from a brand perspective.

You can of course DIY…

It’s not the most difficult of processes. However, there are a vast amount of classifications and it is integral to get the right protection. Getting the searches wrong can mean that similar trade marks can be missed. Also each Trade Mark registry differs across the globe, so giving it to someone with experience means it gets done properly and more fundamentally your trade mark is secure and protected.