Trademarks are at the sine qua non of any business; right from your name or the logos representing your brand, to the names of specific products or services – any particular term or slogan that is unique to your business are the keys to building your brand identity and carving a unique niche for your business. Trademarks are designated to be a valuable business asset since they not only represent your goods and services but also come to represent the reputation of your business.
A trademark being the fundamental unit of your business identity, it helps the potential customers and clients to tell you apart from your other competitors in the market. The key factor in maintaining a strong brand is to ensure that you are in a position to prevent others from using or registering trademarks that are the same as, or similar to, your trademark.
And given the numerous potentials of a trademark, utmost importance is necessitated to its legal protection.
Registering trademarks should be an early milestone in a prudent business model
For businesses, building a brand will most probably be on the top of their “To-Do List”, but in the mean time they must also not side-line the importance of protecting the brand. Businesses need to consider the importance of creating a recognizable and trustworthy brand, as well as legally protecting the same.
And thus, protecting your brand through trademark registration in an early stage is the best way to get a legal shield to your brand.
Trademark Registration gives you an exclusive legal right on your business name.
A Trademark registration legally prohibits anyone from using your trademarks and if so happens, you can easily pursue legal action against them. The primary purpose of getting a trademark registered is to protect the trademark owner against unpleasant competition, fraud and counterfeiters. Trademark Registration protects your business name and gives remedy in the court in case of any infringement.
A registered trademark creates a sound name and a face value for the business among the general public and competitors.
An entrepreneur is always recommended to protect his business or brand name through trademark registration because it will not only give him exclusive legal rights and recognition over the business name but it also creates a face value for his brand in the market.
The entrepreneur establishes a business as well as the brand name by pooling in his innovations and ideas and the same is made known to the public by that brand name. Thus it is extremely imperative that the business name is legally protected for the entrepreneur to claim legal rights and remedies over it.
A registered trademark gives a legal recognition to your business for its product/services.
In a startup, the entrepreneur will market his business venture by various means and device. The customers and general public identify the products or services with the firm’s name, trademarks, logo, and associate these elements purely with the brand name. If these are not protected, other firms are free to use them, leading to a great loss and adversely affecting the brand name.
An absence of legal recognition for your trademark will give the other business entities a possibility to drain away the reputation and goodwill accredited to your business and also to generate profit while riding on the back of your brand name. A registered trademark gives a monopoly business name or brand name to a business in the market.
Trademarks are the most efficient commercial communication tool.
Trademarks make it easy for the consumers to find you and facilitates them to distinguish your products and services from those of competitors and helps identify you as the source. A registered trademark therefore aids the business to:
- Stand apart from the crowd.
- Capture the customer’s attention.
- Help prevent market confusion.
A trademark wraps up in a single brand or logo, the intellectual and emotional attributes about your:
- Company;
- Reputation;
- Products and services.
Trademarks are the most enduring assets.
Trademarks are one of the few assets of a business that can provide you with a long-term competitive advantage. Trademark registrations are transferable assets, which can be used as negotiating tools in business transactions and as security for financial transactions.
Trademarks may also be referred to as leverageable assets since they provide a value beyond the core business, and can pave the way for brand expansion and or acquisition of the business.
Trademarks allow businesses to most effectively utilize the Internet.
Trademarks, being the brand identity of a business, are often the most spontaneously searched articles on the Internet by any user seeking information about the business and its products or services. A higher traffic on your business website will in turn translates into a higher ranking on search engine results, bringing in even more traffic.
The rights of a registered trademark can last indefinitely, as long as it’s renewed.
Once registered, the trademark is protected for a term of 10 years which can be renewed indefinitely by filing the required renewal forms along with the prescribed fees.
Conclusion: A trademark is that word, phrase, symbol, logo, tagline or design associated with the business that sets your goods or services apart and distinguishes your brand name from all the rest. By using and leveraging the trademark effectively a business can create a lasting impression in the minds of their potential customers and strengthen brand recall and customer loyalty.
Registration of a trademark, while protecting an enterprise’s reputation, discourages counterfeiting and imposters. Hence legally protecting the trademark and establishing your business identity to make sure that nobody else misappropriates them, is intrinsic to running a successful business. Registration of trademark acts as proof of ownership and entitlement to the trademark. Registered brands do not only add face value to the business, but they can be transferred, or the rights to use the mark can be licensed for financial gains.
A trademark is both your business identity and an important part of your marketing strategy. Having a registered trademark increases the credibility of your business in the market and, most importantly, enables you to prevent others from using your mark or a mark similar to yours in a manner that could harm your business.
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Editorial Staff
Editorial Staff at Selvam and Selvam is a team of Lawyers, Interns and Staff with expertise in Intellectual Property Rights led by Raja Selvam.
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