What is a Trade Mark?

A trade mark is a sign that distinguishes your goods and/or services from those of other businesses. It is essentially a badge of origin that allows customers to instantly recognise your products or services, and is therefore a key element of your branding.

Trade marks are valuable assets of your business and will only be fully protected if registered. Registering a trade mark gives you an exclusive right to use it for the goods and/or services that it covers. A registered mark enables you to take legal action to prevent others from using your trade mark without your permission.

What should I do when I’ve chosen a trade mark?
Our Trade Mark Lawyers recommend conducting a full availability search as a first step before filing a trade mark application in order to assess whether there are any existing rights that could prevent the registration for use of your proposed mark.

Conducting a trade mark search before filing can also help with drafting a specification of goods and services which will avoid attracting objections from third parties.

Can I trade mark my logo?
Yes – you can apply to trade mark your logo as an identifying mark of your brand. Your logo may also, however, be protected by copyright – if it includes artistic or design elements.

What kind of trade marks cannot be registered?

  • TOP QUALITY would not be registrable for plumbing services, as this would simply be considered laudatory for the services.
  • SERIAL would not be registrable for breakfast cereals, as it is merely a misspelling of ‘cereal’ which would be instantly recognised by the consumer.
  • XL would not be registrable for clothing, as XL is the commonly used symbol for the size extra-large and describes a characteristic of the goods.
  • TREAT would not be considered registrable for foodstuffs and beverages, as it would be considered non-distinctive.

Our Trade Mark Lawyers can guide you through the process of choosing a trade mark and advise you if your trade mark is registrable, and whether there are any potentially conflicting marks that could prevent your use and registration of your proposed mark.

What is Trade Mark classification?
Trade marks are registered for specific goods and/or services which are categorised into classes.

For more information about our trade mark service, contact us today.
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