The distinctiveness of a trademark may be derived from any symbol, word, numeral, expression, a combination of colours with signs or a design which signifies the product's origin and how it differs from similar products in the market.
Introduction
A symbol, word, number, or even a mix of colours may capture your brand’s identity. This identity keeps up your uniqueness in the market. This is Trademark Registration, done with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India. Let’s take an example of any product around us; for any product that we pick, there happens to be a number of companies and enterprises manufacturing the same product. So, every company aims at differentiating their product from the others. To do this, companies make use of the trademark.
What Is a Trademark?
There are many ways in which a trademark can be used to identify a particular product. It can be any unique symbol, word, numeral, expression, combination of colours and signs, or design. Any individual, business owner, or even others can have a trademark. A customer can easily recognise the product and its source (brand name) once they see the trademark on a product.
What Is the Purpose of a Trademark?
The two significant purposes being fulfilled by the trademark are:
- There has been a lot of fraud happening around. People are selling their own goods in the name of another company. So, the trademark helps the manufacturers to avoid unfair competition.
- In business, the question “Who made the product ?” plays an important role. Trademark helps a customer instantly recognise the product and, more importantly, the manufacturer’s name, directly affecting the product’s sale.
How Should Trademark Applications Be Filed
- Ensure you are not confusing a trademark with a patent or copyright.
- There are various types of marks present for different types of intellectual properties, where each mark offers some specific protection. We choose our trademark from the three available formats:
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- Standard character mark
- Stylised/designed mark
- Sound mark
- Due to this, many people hire an attorney, and trademark registration is a complex process. An attorney will not only give you legal advice but also help you manage all the steps required for registration before the deadline.
- Before filing, we must ensure that our trademark is not very similar to any other company’s pre-existing trademark because this creates a likelihood of confusion.
- The data we put in will become public once filed, and the filing fee is not refundable.
Trademark Application Filing
After keeping the above points in mind, we can now start applying. We use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) for applying. You may either choose the TEAS plus or the TEAS form and fill it out. The TEAS Plus form has much lower filing fees but has more strict requirements than the basic TEAS form.
You may use the trademark system and document retrieval (TSDR) to monitor the status of your application. A regular status check must be done every 3-4 months after the initial filing to avoid missing deadlines. Register your trademark to hold on to your uniqueness in the market.
Advantages of Trademark Registration in the USA:
Getting a trademark registration is quite easy. Additionally, it offers a number of advantages and benefits for the brands.
While it is not compulsory to register the trademark, it surely is a better option because of its benefits, which include the following:
- Many customers buy any particular product just because of the brand tag that the product has. If any company knowingly or unknowingly uses a trademark that is similar to that of our company, then it creates a likelihood of confusion. The trademark registration will help the company to be the exclusive user of its mark.
- Registering a trademark lets a company have nationwide validity, which means it protects against infringement in your region and all fifty states. This also helps a company to grow its business fearlessly.
- If a company chooses to file its trademark directly with each country’s trademark office, the US trademark registration can also act as a springboard to international trademark protection.
- If in the future you feel like selling your business, then it is a known fact that investors prefer to buy a company that has a registered trademark. Hence, you hold a higher chance of quickly selling your business. The registered trademark adds to the value of your business.
- Nowadays, e-business is in trend. People search for the products of their favourite brands online. But there are various duplicates also available on the online platform. So, a unique registered trademark that the customer can easily recognise will help the company stand out from the crowd.
- The trademark registration also allows the company to claim against any other company copying their trademark and take legal action against them. Thus, register your trademark to keep your uniqueness in the market.
Conclusion
Since so many products are available offline and online, everyone must have their trademark registered to take advantage of the numerous benefits it offers. If you want to keep your uniqueness in the market, the Vakilsearch team is always here to help.
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