Common types of Intellectual Property - the Trade Mark (Brand)
If you are going to produce and sell products, or provide services, you will want to identify these so that customers are buying your goods or services. Trade Marks (brands) are anything which identifies the source of the goods or services. It enables the public to discern who is behind the product or services, and to make purchasing decisions.
We are bombarded with trade marks every day, vying for our attention to buy a particular product. Most Westerners are familiar with large well known brands such as: Pepsi, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Samsung, Apple, and so on.... When you see the brand, theoretically you assume you are buying a product or service made by, or for, the company behind the brand.
Many brands become valuable by virtue of their favourable reputation. The technical term for this is Goodwill, which is rare to find except associated with a brand or trade mark. A high degree of goodwill induces people to by a particular brand by reputation alone. Unfortunately, this can also induce two major problems:
- the imitators, who produce similar products under a confusingly similar brand
- the counterfeiters, who produce identical or similar products under someone else's brand
Of course, the more valuable your brand, then the more attractive it becomes to these two groups, though imitators will also show up for less valuable brands where intense competition exists (e.g. two competitors in a small town), or through ignorance of the law. Hence misappropriation of your trade mark rights is a problem for everyone, whether starting up a business with an as yet unknown brand, or for a well established brand.
The primary type of protection is Trade Mark Registration, which is registration of your brand on the official Trade Mark Register of a country. This is NOT the same as the Companies Register or Business Register, which provide NO trade mark rights. Registration provides legally enforceable rights.
In some countries a fall-back form of protection based on common law rights of usage may exist. However these rights are weak and hard to enforce, and are generally proportional in strength to the extent of the reputation of your brand. No well constructed business strategy would rely solely on these types of rights as it leaves the brands vulnerable.
If you are going to produce and sell products, or provide services, you will want to identify these so that customers are buying your goods or services. Trade Marks (brands) are anything which identifies the source of the goods or services. It enables the public to discern who is behind the product or services, and to make purchasing decisions.
We are bombarded with trade marks every day, vying for our attention to buy a particular product. Most Westerners are familiar with large well known brands such as: Pepsi, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Samsung, Apple, and so on.... When you see the brand, theoretically you assume you are buying a product or service made by, or for, the company behind the brand.
Many brands become valuable by virtue of their favourable reputation. The technical term for this is Goodwill, which is rare to find except associated with a brand or trade mark. A high degree of goodwill induces people to by a particular brand by reputation alone. Unfortunately, this can also induce two major problems:
- the imitators, who produce similar products under a confusingly similar brand
- the counterfeiters, who produce identical or similar products under someone else's brand
Of course, the more valuable your brand, then the more attractive it becomes to these two groups, though imitators will also show up for less valuable brands where intense competition exists (e.g. two competitors in a small town), or through ignorance of the law. Hence misappropriation of your trade mark rights is a problem for everyone, whether starting up a business with an as yet unknown brand, or for a well established brand.
The primary type of protection is Trade Mark Registration, which is registration of your brand on the official Trade Mark Register of a country. This is NOT the same as the Companies Register or Business Register, which provide NO trade mark rights. Registration provides legally enforceable rights.
In some countries a fall-back form of protection based on common law rights of usage may exist. However these rights are weak and hard to enforce, and are generally proportional in strength to the extent of the reputation of your brand. No well constructed business strategy would rely solely on these types of rights as it leaves the brands vulnerable.
Trade marks indicate whom goods or services are associated with. It tells consumers who is in charge of making the product or providing the service.
It is a public face of a business that consumers identify with, and use to make buying decisions.
Valuable trade marks have a high degree of goodwill. It is extremely rare for goodwill to exist alone, almost always being associated with a trade mark.
Trade Marks should be registered as trade marks for strong enforceable protection. Business or company name registration is NOT trade mark registration and typically provides NO trade mark rights.
It is a public face of a business that consumers identify with, and use to make buying decisions.
Valuable trade marks have a high degree of goodwill. It is extremely rare for goodwill to exist alone, almost always being associated with a trade mark.
Trade Marks should be registered as trade marks for strong enforceable protection. Business or company name registration is NOT trade mark registration and typically provides NO trade mark rights.
