Trademarking a business is a good strategy to defend and protect it. A business name can be protected by a trademark. This is an important step for businesses since it guarantees that the company’s name remains unique. As a result, registering a trademark helps protect a company’s name or brand against intellectual property theft or misuse as it expands. All business names, logos, goods, and labels are eligible for trademark protection. Therefore in this article, we will be looking into How To Trademark A Business Name and the benefits of trademarking.
What Is A Trademark?
A trademark is any term, phrase, symbol, design, or blends of all these characteristics that identify a company’s goods or services. Trademarks provide companies with name protection, and licensing a trademark ensures that these rights can be verified and enforced.
How To Trademark A Business Name?
Applying for a trademark is substantially simpler, requiring only four easy steps to complete. However, the trade licensing procedure might take 6 to 8 months or longer. The common application is less expensive when compared to the entire out-of-pocket charges.
Registering for a trademark does not necessarily ensure that you will receive one, as trademark applications are subject to a rigorous evaluation procedure. Furthermore, if the application is refused, the filing expenses are nonrefundable. In the next phases, we will look at how to trademark a business name.
1. Examine If You Actually Need A Trademark
The first and most important stage in trademarking your business is to determine if you truly need a trademark. This gives you a clear picture of whether a trademark is suited for you or whether you should seek another option. However, a trademark is required to protect the name of your brand.
Using a business name immediately offers some trademark protection; however, this is only valid if a company can present evidence proving that it was the first to use the name in the industry. As a result, registering a trademark grants the owner special privileges to use the name in association with the category of products or services for which it is registered.
2. Investigate Existing Trademarks
The next critical step that you should not skip when trying to trademark a name is to see if any current or similar trademarks already exist. To search for current and expired trademarks, utilize the UK Intellectual Property Office’s (UKIPO) database. This search can include containing symbols and phrases, as well as a list of comparable trademarks and the class in which they are registered.
It is critical to ensure that the name or phrase you wish to trademark is accepted by UKIPO. It is recommended that you search not just for the exact name but also for any similar names, since any existing business has a similar resemblance will almost certainly result in the application being rejected.
3. Prepare the Application
After determining the trademark name or symbol, the following step is to draft an application and maintain it ready to send to the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). Because an application takes a substantial amount of time and works to create, ensuring that it is as complete as possible is almost as crucial as confirming that a name or phrase is not already in use. Open a new account, complete the application forms, and follow the status of your application using UKIPO’s system.
The following information is required for the preparation of an application:
- The name, address, and contact information of the company registering for the trademark. This might be a person or a company. Individuals and enterprises situated outside of the UK, on the other hand, will need to retain a lawyer to accomplish this procedure.
- Enter the name or trademark that you want to protect. Your trademark could also be filed as a name in a certain color, style, typeface, or any other sort of distinctive form. This trademark, however, will only protect that specific representation of the business name.
- The following stage would be to specify the items or services that the name will cover. You must also explain your product and service and indicate the class it belongs to. With extra expenses, a trademark can be registered in more than one class. Finally, the applications must be appropriately dated and signed.
4. Filing The Application
Applicants would obtain a registration receipt with a serial number that may subsequently be used to reference the application after filing. When you file an application with UKIPO, it is sent to a government practicing attorney for evaluation. In the event that flaws are discovered during the patent attorney’s evaluation, the applicant may get a letter known as an “office action.” Applicants typically have six months to react to any difficulties or problems before the application filing expires.
If the application is granted, the trademark will be published in an internet journal, providing others with the chance to object. This process takes around three months, but if no objection is filed, the trademark would be authorized. If the mark is challenged, a trademark lawyer must be hired to protect the trademark.
Why Do You Need A Trademark?
Obtaining a trademark for your company name grants you the exclusive right to use the name in connection with the items and services for which the name is registered across the United States. This does not provide competitors with the ability to fool people by using the name or generating similar-sounding names since it simply provides you with a legal route to guard against copycats undertaking all sorts of sneaky, underhanded activities.
Trademarking your company name gives your customers clarity and helps them prevent misunderstanding with another company. Investors will be keener to lend cash to your trademarked business name since it proves ownership. Using a registered business name to build a strong brand helps you to affect how your customers feel once they see the brand.
Conclusion
Trademarking a business name is usually beneficial for your company since it protects you from legal difficulties if another company has a similar name to yours. Profit Builder is one of the finest platforms to learn all the business strategies and recent updates in business technology. We hope that the preceding information on How To Trademark A Business Name provided you with an understanding of how to trademark your company’s name, logo symbol, and so on.