“Tiger die and leave their skin; people die and leave their names”
Just like people the brand name of the product is its unique identity. Everything may fade away but the brand name once established can never be vanished. Usually, people associate with the big brand’s names and put their trust in them blindly. Some of the biggest market players like Apple, Coca-Cola, Raymonds, Haldiram, are reaping the benefits of their brand names for years. In this era of cut-throat competition, there are very bright chances of misuse of well-established brand names. We all have commonly seen many deceivingly similar brand names wherein different spellings are used to cheat people. Some of the popular brand names being exploited commonly include PUMA, Bikanervala, levies, Adidas etc.
So what can you do to protect your brand name? In order to protect your exclusive rights on your brand name, you must obtain a trademark registration. A registered trademark is an imperative intellectual property right that is an asset for a company. Before moving forward it is imperative for us to know the meaning of trademark registration.
What is Trademark?
Trademark can be defined as any symbol, word, name, logo that is capable of uniquely identifying the products of one person and distinguish it from the others products available in the market.
However, the mark registered with respect to services is known as the service marks.
What is Trademark Registration?
Trademark registration means getting your unique trademark registered under Indian Trademarks act, 1999. The main motive behind the introduction of trademark registration was to provide recognition to the uniqueness and creativity of the holder. For getting trademark registration the holder is required to conduct the comprehensive public trademark search and make an application through the official intellectual property right website www.ipindia.nic.com and follow the further steps.
Advantages of Trademark Registration
In India, it is not mandatory to obtain trademark registration still a huge number of individual and business entities obtain a trademark registration. Do you know why? This is because there is a number of benefits that come along with the trademark registration. Below we have listed out some of the significant benefits associated with trademark registration.
- Unique identity – Obtaining trademark registration brings ® mark with it. This helps the customers in distinctively identifying your mark, symbol or logo which in turn helps it to stand out from the crowd and gain the competitive advantage.
- Grants exclusive rights – This is obvious as the owner of the trademark you wish to enjoy the exclusive usage and distribution rights your trademark. These exclusive rights can only come with trademark registration. By obtaining trademark registration the owner can prevent any other person from unauthorized use of the trademark in the same class in which he has already obtained registration. Basically, trademark registration is a proof that the brand name or the logo belongs to the owner and only he has all the rights to sell, modify or use that trademark in whichever way he wants.
- Provide protection against infringement – As we have discussed in the above point trademark registration gives rights to holder only. Any third person is not empowered to use the registered product name for his products or products. Still, in case any third person uses the registered trademark without the owner’s permission, the owner can exercise his right and sue the person.
- Assist in building the goodwill and trust– Obtaining trademark registration Trademark helps a business entity to establish a good image in the market. Customers trust the registered brand much more than the unregistered one.
- The growth of the business- Trademark registration plays a vital role in the growth of the brand in a long run. It is comparatively easy for a well -established brand to introduce a new product line than an unregistered brand name. For instance, there is a cloth manufacturer holding a well- known trademark for his cloth business. He decides to expand his business by including a shoe manufacturing business into his work. As he is a well-known business with the trusted trademark it is easier for him to introduce his new shoe business and gain the trust of people.
- Give protection for 10 years– The maintenance cost of a trademark is very low. Once you have received trademark registration you can reap its benefits for 10 years. After that, you just have to pay its nominal maintenance cost and renewal cost in order to continue in order to enjoy uninterrupted benefits of a registered trademark.
- 6. Magnetize good human resource- Every young and talented mind aspire to be associated with big brand names. Usually, no brand name can become and gain recognition without the ® symbol by its side. Thus, trademark registration helps in reducing the cost associated with hiring and related services.
Conclusion
To sum up we can say that trademark registration can help you in getting some serious recognition in the industry and gain competitive advantages. Moreover, it will help you in protecting your brand name or logo from being misused by your competitors.
You can a symbol of TM on your product just after making the application and after getting it registered you can change the TM symbol to (®).
Now you know how trademark registration is a significant asset for your business. So what are you waiting for? Get your trademark registered now and give a head start to your Start up.
My name is Shreya Mittal and I work as a content specialist at Registrationwala. I am a commerce graduate turned into a creative content writer. Being from a commerce background I always had a keen interest in researching and writing the topics related to law. With my blogs I desire to impart the complete and updated information about the various aspects related to the business units.