Trademarking FAQs.

For a start-up or a small business, the intellectual property is often the biggest asset for the company. This IP is what distinguishes them from their competitors. Intellectual property includes trademark, patents, and copyright. In this blog, we are going to focus on the trademark.

Trademark is what helps companies keep their brand safe. After the trademark registration has been filed and approved, the company owns the intellectual property rights for that particular name, logo or slogan. That way the company can take legal actions when other players in the market try to hijack their identity by copying logo or name and use them in a mutilated form. Following are the most frequently asked questions and their answers.

1. Does trademarking IP confirm the prevention of its misuse?

The main purpose of trademarking an IP is to gain to rights to that specific logo or name and protect it from competitors. It also prevents confusion in the market and helps you set your distinct identity in the clutter of brands. That's the reason why trademark protection only applies to a particular category of goods and services. For example, there can be two different companies with the same name but the only requirements are that they should not be competing in the same market. Let’s take the mobile manufacturing giant Nokia who is actually named after a river, there can also be small violin making company named the same without facing any legal actions. As there is no reason for the consumers to confuse the two of them.

2. What is the right time to file a trademark?

As early as possible. As soon as you can decide upon the name and logo of your company you should file an intent-to-use trademark application. This makes sure that your brand is protected once you begin your commercial sales. In addition, a comprehensive trademark search usually accompanies the registration filing. You should first do a trademark search to make sure that you are not trying to infringe someone else’s mark.

3. What happens when someone uses my trademark?

If the other company is in the different market segment you can’t stop him from using your mark, you can only do so when the company is in the same market of goods and services as you are. If you believe your competitor is infringing on your mark, an attorney will first send a cease and desist letter on your behalf, demanding him to stop using your mark. If that's unsuccessful, you can file a lawsuit to stop the use. In many cases, you can also sue the other user for the compensation of the monetary loss that his infringement has caused.

CoinproBiz Solutions has been established to provide exclusive services in the field of Company Registration, Intellectual Property Rights, Trademark registration, Copyright Registration and allied services, with the help of specialized and experienced professionals from varied backgrounds such as Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Corporate Lawyers and Business Professionals. We are dedicated to providing the best recommendations and execution for leading, middle market and emerging growth companies to promote their business.