When you think of popular brands like Ola, Uber, Reebok, Nike, Fair & Lovely or Fair & Handsome, you may be surprised to know that an average person comes across at least 100 trademarks every day. Everywhere you look – from the toothpaste in your medicine cabinet to what this page is displayed on, trademarks are all around us. This post will inform you about what exactly a trademark is, its purpose and the reason why register it.
What’s a Trademark?
Trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design and/or combination of these elements. It works as a brand of distinction for your products or services compared to the others in this market. An example, as if you were to own a business that makes shirts and standout quality leads one of your customers suggest their friend try out YOUR SHIRT they’ll be looking for the brand in particular. If your product is marketed and known as a specific name, such as Kleenex brand facial tissue or Band-Aid bandages treating any wounds with anything other than the original branding being seen by customers can lead to confusion.
Importance of Trademark : A story
A funny little story from my freshman year at college… This is a story, when cancer was just a zodiac sign and Mathew perry got all the fame for being Chandler Bing. So I along with my gang visited Delhi from Rajasthan for an internship, while in the city of dreams (never seen one) we decided to visit Chandni chowk specially that famous Parantey Wali Gali which has lot more than paranthas!. On reaching there, we found 10 to 15 restaurants that claimed to be the “original” parotta makers of the same name. If the original parotta maker had trademarked their name, we would have easily found the authentic shop and enjoyed their parottas. In the absence of trademarks, other restaurants take advantage of the goodwill of the original store to create confusion among customers.
Trademarks are used to identify a brand
A trademark is very important to associate your products and services with your brand identity. For instance, if you produce a special product such as bottle and start selling it under particular brand name but do not register the trademark for your that brand name then others can copy your same product and use the same designation. It can just a distraction of consumers and it is bad for your business. By registering your trademark you can prevent others from taking advantage of the goodwill that you have created in your brand.
Legal reasons to trademark register with geographical pros and cons
This is because trademarks by their very nature fall short when it comes to international protection. If you record another party using your brand in a different region, difficult or costly to prove how well-known it that area is your mark if not filed. A registered trademark, however,provides a more comprehensive level of protection. For instance, in India a registered trademark works as whole of nation and you can even get protection across many nations
Ownership and popularity
When you register your trademark with the government, it gives you ownership to exclusively use that name. This way similar or confusingly spelling names cannot be registered. For instance, let us say “Bata” is a registered footwear brand; so no one else can register any other name that too for the type of goods like patent. The copyright attribution is tangible, making it simpler to bring a case against violators. In court, all that is necessary to show how similar the infringing trademark is with yours without having to prove recognition of your brand in this case.
Summary: Benefits of trademark registration
Well, to put it shortly the trademark is not just a name symbol or logo but your brand identity. It is a key method to market and safeguard your business. There is no compulsion for registration of a trademark in India but it provides tremendous benefits as compared to the small fee paid at the time. If you are a startup or business rolling out a new product or service, it is wiser and cost effective to register your trademark early enough as this would save the company considerable amount of money in future litigation. For those seeking trademark registration in Kolkata, early registration can provide significant advantages.
