How to Trademark Your Brand

Step-by-Step Guide

Trademarking your brand is likely the best means of protecting your company name and having your entire intellectual property all to yourself. You are either a young or an old firm, but trademarking keeps your brand copy-free and prevents someone else from duplicating your distinct logo, name, or slogan and confusing or destroying your image brand. Today in this article, we are going to talk about trademarking your brand, why you should trademark, and how you can trademark your brand so that you can secure your brand.

What is a Trademark?

Trademark is a mark, word, logo, or sign that alone identified and distinguished a source of goods or services. Trademark is an origin mark to your benefit where consumers would easily recognize and trust your company. Trademarks also deter people from copying your aspect of your business in ways that would confuse consumers or weaken the brand strength.

Significance of Brand Trademarking

Now that we have discussed how crucial it is to trademark, let us proceed to the step-by-step guide on how you can do it.

1. Legal Protection: When you trademark your brand, you are given legal protection for your brand and never allow anyone else to use it without your permission. If anyone abuses your trademark, you have the right to pursue action against them so that they are not allowed to do so.
2. Exclusivity: Getting the name registered as your trademark would ensure that you and your organization are the sole owners of the right to use the mark, name, or symbol you have registered as your brand name. Exclusivity is in full demand when planning and developing a good brand image.
3. Consumer Trust: Customer trust is established through trademarks. If your trademarked item is familiar to your customers, then they know what value and quality they can expect from you. Consistency allows your brand to establish reputation and trust.
4. Asset Value: A trademark is an intellectual property that will form part of your future brand value. If you ever wish to sell your business or license out your brand, a registered trademark will certainly make your company saleable and profitable.
5. Worldwide Protection: The brands across the world are safeguarded. Once you trademark your brand, you will have the capacity to cast the umbrella of your brand all over the world in a manner that nobody will be in a position to use your intellectual property all over the world.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Trademark Your Brand

Trademarking your brand may seem hard to do, but it is possible that you trademark your brand provided that you learn how to trademark your brand. A step-by-step guide on how you can trademark your brand successfully is as follows:

1. Choose a good trademark

The start of your brand’s trademarking starts with the choosing of a name, symbol, or sign that is distinct and unique. A good trademark is a distinctive one and is a one that will not mislead customers in the market.

• Don’t use descriptive or generic names: Descriptive or generic names are not trademarkable. A good example would be a company selling juice and calling it “Fresh Juice,” which cannot be trademarked since it’s just describing the product.
• Be distinctive: Use something that is distinctive and will not fall under any current trademark. A distinctive trademark is likely to be approved.
• Trademark Search: You discover whether anyone is using the name or the logo you wish to trademark. You search either in the database of the USPTO or whatever you use in your country office with the same name.

2. Prepare with Your Application

Once a good and original trademark is discovered, filing time has arrived. Filing is not so complex but after preparation.

• Choose your mark type: Decide if you need a word mark (the name only), a design mark (logo), or a combination mark.
• Recite the goods or services: Recite the goods or services to which your trademark will apply. The USPTO, like most trademark offices, bundles marks together into classes by numerous industries.
• Establish your trademark: You need to have a definition of your trademark in the spirit of simplicity. If your trademark is a logo, provide a clear description, and if a word mark, provide the actual words you want to be protected.
• File your application: You may file your application online from the website of your jurisdiction’s trademark office. We do in America have an electronic filing system operated by the USPTO where you submit your application.

3. Examination Process

After submitting your application, it will be examined by a trademark examiner. It usually takes a few months, during which the examiner looks for clashes with existing registered trademarks and checks if your trademark is in accordance with the law.

• Office actions: If the examiner finds any issues with your application, they may issue an office action. This is a notice explaining the issues that need to be resolved. You’ll be required to respond to these actions within a specific time frame.
• Oppoition period: After your application has been accepted by the examiner, your trademark can be opposed to registration by third parties within 30 days. Apart from oppositions, otherwise, the mark is published in an official journal for the next step.

4. Registration

After your trademark passes opposition and examination, it is registered. You’ll be granted a certificate of registration, and you’ll be the sole owner of your trademark.

• Add a trademark symbol: When you have a registered trademark, you can put the ® symbol next to your company name or logo to indicate it’s registered.

5. Maintain Your Trademark

The registration of trademark is not lifetime. You should continue using your trademark and send some papers to the trademark office from time to time to sustain your trademark.

• Use or lose: You must use your trademark in business to keep your registered trademark. If you don’t use your trademark, your trademark will be cancelled.
• Maintenance documents to be filed: According to the USA, you must file some maintenance documents in your 5th to 6th year of registration and then later every 10 years.

6. Mistakes to Avoid when Trademarking Your Brand

• Same trademark choice available at present: Conduct a serious trademark search so that your trademark is fresh and doesn’t duplicate an existing registered trademark.
• Fresh minute detail in classes of trademarks: If your products or services fall into a single category, ensure you register it under the same class so that you’re protecting your products.
• Cancellation of the trademark: Ensure that you complete all the documents, and you renew the trademark such that it is continued.

Conclusion

Trademarking your company is most likely the best method you have for protecting your intellectual property, growing your company, and building trust with your clients. You can easily guide yourself through the trademark registration process with the guidebook steps and assist in safeguarding your brand developed in the future. A quality trademark is an investment in your company’s future success.

FAQ

1.) How long does trademarking a brand take?

It would take 8 to 12 months to trademark a brand, in other instances even longer than that depending on the amount of complexity in the application and the issues they have had to undergo the examination process.

2.) How expensive is it to trademark a brand?

It also varies according to countries how much you are supposed to trademark a brand name. It costs $250 in a class of goods or services for the US when you are meant to pay filing fee. There may be some extra payments if, in any way, you would need to do some legal action or would need to file so that you can save yours.

3.) Can I trademark my brand name and logo?

Yes, you can trademark your brand name and logo too. You can register them individually or collectively for both of them for the two if so that they can be used side by side.

4.) Is my brand trademarkable worldwide?

Yes, your mark can be registered worldwide under the Madrid Protocol. It is a treaty whereby you fill in one application form and register your mark in other member countries of the protocol.

5.) What do I do if someone is infringing on my trademark?

If you see your trademark being used by someone else, then there is something which you can do. You can issue a cease-and-desist letter, sue them, or do it in any other way. You have to defend your rights so that you don’t lose the worth of your brand.

6.) Can I trademark a business name if I am not going to utilize it?

In all the states, you can file an intent-to-use trademark application, i.e., trademark never having used the name with business intentions but with the intention to use it. You would have to start using the trademark within a time period from registration for the purpose of protecting your rights, if desired.