Trademark as a tool to stand out
In the modern world with its consumerism tendencies, the trademark brings certain benefits to the manufacturer and their product:
– The product is separated from the other similar ones.
– Customers and distributors grow loyal to the trademark and at the same time help the manufacturer plan future sales.
– Instead of offering one product to everyone, trademark divides the market into segments of different consumers and provides them with a product that fulfills their needs.
– The reputation of the firm becomes stronger, which help the enterprise during the establishment of new brands and improvement of its position on the market.
During the preparation of a new trademark multiple characteristics of the product should be taken into consideration before assigning it a certain label. These characteristics include the product life cycle, whether it needs a separate designation, what the expected cost and growth of profits are, whether it would be cost-effective to create a brand.
In most countries it is not possible to register a trademark in case it misleads the consumers concerning the manufacturer or the place of production. This aspect should be considered as well. Also, in the EU a new trademark would not be registered in case its name is similar to existing trademarks or the ones claimed for registration by another person for the same products and services or related to them.
For registration of a new trademark in Europe, there are specialized lawyers on the market. Their task is to deliver manufacturers legal support and guarantee the correct filing of documents necessary for listing and protection of trademarks in the EU and the UK.
How to protect a trademark in the EU states?
Creation of new trademarks becomes extremely time- and money-consuming for firms. A successful trademark will bring a higher demand and support to the company, while a poor trademark can negatively impact the enterprise’s reputation and even decrease its sales.
A popular trademark can even become the company’s most valuable intangible asset since it is well-known and loved by the customers. The question is how to protect this asset from the illegal usage by others?
In order to keep the TM unique and to forbid other companies profiting from the creator’s success, the trademark needs to be listed on the Trademark Register.
The EU presents multiple ways for foreign applicants to register their trademarks in the Union:
- Applicants interested in registering their TM in one or more countries of the EU are advised to register with the relevant national authorities in each EU country.
- Applicants who plan on running the company in all or most of EU countries should register in the regional intellectual property office.
- Applicants who would like to do business in many countries of the world other than the EU are advised to approach the Madrid system with trademark protection in the European Union as a region.
If requested, a new trademark-to-be can be verified for the subject of equivalence or resemblance to existing trademarks in the EU.
How trademarks are regulated in the European Union?
As an effect of the Madrid protocol of the international registration of trademarks, all countries of the EU use a harmonized trademark law. The unified trademark law, created by EU Directive 89/104 / EEC containing the Community Trademark Regulation (EU Regulation 40/94), applies to the whole Union.
The EU Directive was created on the basis of the law that regulates trademarks registered with the Internal Market Harmonized Service (trademark and industrial designs) in Alicante (Spain) (recognized as OHIM). OHIM registration validates a trademark across the European Union. After all, there two ways of appealing for a TM in Europe – through the OHIM or a British court. Then the European Court of Justice makes a decision as an interpretation by the British Courts of the Trademark Act 1994.
Overall, we would rather recommend finding professional assistance of lawyers and trademark registration specialists while registering a trademark in the EU to prevent errors during the appeal. Specialists from COREDO will help you register your trademark correctly since the legislation of the registration can get truly complicated and sometimes unclear.
Our company will deliver you all services needed from the similarity examination through filing an appeal to registering the trademark certificate in the European Union or United Kingdom.