Benefits of Trademark | Why and How you should Register Now?

 

Managing a business entails a mix of tasks from various professions. You deal with bookkeeping, selling, marketing, customer service, and maintenance daily as an entrepreneur. But there is one area of business security that is all too often overlooked. The benefits of trademark and how it helps your business.

How many business owners recognise that their brand may one day become their most valuable asset and that having a registered trademark is the best way to preserve it? 

Trademark Registration Online may protect many parts of a brand, and all businesses should consider registering their name, logo, essential product/service names, and slogans. 

 

What are the benefits of trademark?

Trademarks are important for a variety of reasons. Here's a quick rundown of some of them.

 

1. Trademark registration establishes legal ownership of your brand.

In most cases, trademark rights are established by registration. In some countries, limited trademark rights can be acquired by the use of the trademark, but in the majority of nations, this is either impossible or exceedingly difficult. 

To have firm legal ownership of your brand, you should register your trademark as a general rule and enjoy various benefits of trademark.

 

2. Trademark registration gives you more flexibility.

It is possible (or perhaps likely) that someone in another nation will register a similar name if you do not register your trademark. The majority of disagreements do not occur on purpose. 

Every day, about 15,000 trademark registrations files only in the United States. 

You're probably not the only one who has come up with a name. It might become highly complicated and pricey if someone registers a similar name in a country that is essential to you.

 

3. Trademark registrations alert others to your legal rights.

When you register your trademark, it becomes publicly available for other companies to find and consider. By registering your trademark, you can reduce the chances of someone infringing on your rights.

 

4. Spend less money.

Trademarks are a type of intellectual property that is reasonably inexpensive. Whether you are being accused of infringement or accusing someone of infringing on your rights, registering your trademarks will save you money in the event of a dispute. It doesn't matter who is right at the end if your rights violate. It will cost all sides money and other resources.

 

5. Develop stronger collaborations.

Local partners in many countries, notably in Asia, insist on the benefits of trademark protection. Why? They're also putting money, resources, and their reputation on the line to make your items available to their own customers and clients in their own countries. 

If you haven't safeguarded your trademark, they're also subject to local knock-offs and rip-offs. By failing to protect your trademark, you are signalling to your local partner that you are uninterested in preserving their interests. 

As a result, by protecting your trademark, you are also safeguarding the interests of your local partners, and as a result, you will be able to attract far better partners.

 

6. Make your brand more valuable.

Trademark registration raises your brand's worth. Registered trademarks are one of three components that contribute to the value of your brand, according to ISO standard (10668:2010).

 

7. Intellectual property protection is important to investors.

Investors place a higher value on organisations that have safeguarded their intellectual property. This is due to a variety of factors. One is that, unlike actual assets, the value of the intellectual property can grow eternally, and another is that intellectual property protection decreases operational risks.

 

8. Registering a trademark is an important business.

It's difficult to take seriously a corporation that doesn't preserve its brand building and commercial identity. The most important benefits of trademark is that they are identifiers of a company's commercial origin. 

 

9. Using the TM sign for marketing purposes.

The ability to use the ® symbol signals to customers that the product and its business origin are valuable assets. The TM sign shows that the brand owner believes in the product and does not want competitors to take advantage of its goodwill. The ® sign boosts consumer confidence.

 

10. Getting the most out of your revenue streams.

The benefits of trademark registration are just not limited to these. Licensing relies heavily on trademark protection. Licensing not limits to large international corporations. Many of the startups we represent have a business plan that includes licencing both their technology and their brand. Technology licencing is a great method to put your company in the spotlight. In the end, the brand will be more valuable than the technology if done well.

 

7 Steps for Obtaining a Trademark Registration

The process of trademark registration online for a company name is simple. Many companies can submit an application online in about two hours.

Before you start the application, double-check that no one else has already registered the mark or something similar for the same type of services and goods that you provide to your target market.

The categories of services and items that will be registered, the date of the mark's initial use. Also, if you are seeking a design component are all required information for online trademark registration. 

If you run an online business, you should avoid registering a web extension unless you plan to register the mark both with and without a web extension.

 

Step 1: Trademark Search

When selecting a trademark, the applicant must exercise caution. Because there are so many various types of trademarks accessible, it is critical to conduct a public search on the Trade Marks Registry's trademarks database to ensure that the trademark is original and that no other trademarks are similar or identical to his or hers.

 

Step 2: Submit an application for a trademark.

The trademark registration application can file in a single-class or multi-class format, depending on the goods and services that the company provides.

The trademark registration online application is Form TM- A, which can be filed electronically through the official IP India website or in person at the Trade Marks Office, depending on the trademark's jurisdiction.

Multiple papers containing complete details of the trademark for which registration is sought must submit with the trademark registration application. 

Furthermore, if the applicant claims prior use of the trademark, a user affidavit supporting the use, as well as documentation of the prior use, must be filed.

 

Step 3: The government authority examines the trademark application.

After an exhaustive examination of the trademark application by the rules of the Trade Marks Act, 2016, the Examiner should issue an obligatory examination report following the filing of the trademark application.

The authority's examination report may or may not reveal any objections, which can be absolute, relative, or procedural. The Trademark Authority issues this examination report within 30 days of the filing of the registration application.

Within 30 days of obtaining the examination report, a reaction to the report must file presenting the arguments and evidence against any objections to waive them off.

 

Step 4: Conduct a post-examination

If the Examiner (Trademark Authority) is not completely pleased with the reply filed or if the objections are not addressed, the Examiner (Trademark Authority) may schedule a hearing. After the hearing, the Examiner may accept the mark. Also, then transmit the application to the journal for publication, or reject the application if any objections remain.

 

Step 5: Publicity for the trademark

When a trademark registration application approves, it advertises and publishes in the Trade Marks Journal for a period of four months. The purpose of the publication and advertisement is to encourage the general public to file an objection if any.

 

Step 6: General public opposition

Any aggrieved party can file a notice to dispute the registration of the advertised/published trademark. However, only once it has been advertised and published in the journal.

This opposition notification must be filed using Form TM- O within four months of the trademark's publication in the Trademark Journal. 

If a trademark application contests or objects to, you must follow the proper legal procedure. It includes filing a counter-statement application, providing proof, and holding a hearing in order to have the trademark registered.

 

Step 7: Obtaining a trademark registration certificate

The final step in the process is registration. It occurs once the application has overcome any objections and/or opposition to the trademark registration.