We (branding professionals) operate under the assumption that the name you’ve given us to work with has passed the trademark checks and is clear for use. It is not the designer’s or brand strategist’s job to handle trademarks for you. The business who owns the trademark is responsible for all actions and costs associated with checking, registering, maintaining, and protecting the trademark. Who is responsible for checking and registering trademarks? But if I were using an invented name for my own business, I’d definitely pay to have it protected. I’m using my own personal name as my business name, and I don’t think anyone is silly enough to go apply to use my personal name as their trademark just to spite me, so I didn’t do it. Even though you may have been using the name for longer, if their trademark application is accepted, you’re screwed. However, be careful because another company may register the same name you’re using as a trademark in your country and force you to change yours. If you’re a small local business and not too worried about customers being confused, a trademark may not be a worthwhile investment. If you want to ensure that no other business or individual is able to use a name or a logo that’s too similar to yours and potentially mislead your customers, you need to register a trademark. You can register your trademark in any country where you intend doing business, but this will increase the cost of registration and maintenance. If you register them in Croatia, they’re only protected in Croatia. If you register them at the USPTO, they’re only protected within the United States. Trademarks are only protected in the country where you’ve registered them. Trademarks which have expired may later be claimed by another business. Unlike copyright protection which in some countries has a duration of 70 years after the death of the original author of the work, trademarks expire more quickly, and need to be renewed every 5–10 years so that the protection remains in place. If you haven’t registered a trademark, this may not be possible. Having the paperwork that proves you own the intellectual property makes it easy to prove in court that you are right. uses a similar name or a logo-you have a right to send them a cease and desist letter to ask them to stop it, and if they don’t comply you can sue them for damages. If someone infringes upon your trademark-ie. If someone decides to use a similar name in an industry that’s completely different to yours, they can do that because there is very little potential for confusion among customers. You can’t register a blanket trademark across all the different classes (that would be too expensive). Trademarks are protected within the class (category) of products or services you sell. If you only protect one of them, then someone can still infringe upon the other, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Ideally, you would want to protect both types of trademark for your company so that no one can use a name that’s too similar to yours, or a logo design that’s too similar to yours. A figurative trademark can be the logo mark (symbol) alone, or a combination of images and words. There are two types of trademarks: verbal trademark which cover the company and/or product name written in letters and figurative trademark which protects the logo graphic. No other company may use this, or a similar name in a way that may confuse or mislead consumers about which company they’re dealing with. If a company owns a trademark for let’s say the word “Owls” in the category of educational products in a certain country, this means that this company is the only one that is allowed to use this name in relation to educational products. A trademark can be owned by an individual person or by an organization. Trademarks are a type of intellectual property (IP), along with copyright and patents. I will share some general tips so you’re more informed about the next steps you need to take. I’m not a lawyer but a graphic designer, so nothing I’m presenting here should be taken as legal advice. Trademarks fall into the scope of legal practice. Once you’ve found a name that is available and appropriate for your use, it’s a good idea to protect that name (and the logo graphic) so that your company is the only one that can use it. Selecting the perfect business name is a difficult process, and there’s nothing more demotivating than learning someone else has already registered your chosen name. Published by Nela Dunato on Jin Branding, Business Do I need to register a trademark with my logo and business name?
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