Globrands about Securing the brand
Just like creating a painting or a song, the creator of the work, in this case a name, has a right to protect its work. The most common and effective way to legally protect your name, is to register your trade name or trademark. In this article, we explain some fundamental steps in order to obtain a registration.
Creating a business costs a lot of energy, time and money. However, many entrepreneurs are dedicated to the company they established, and by doing so, they are creating economic value. This value is expressed by delivering high-quality products and services, all under one company or brand name.
Trade names and trademarks are both a form of intellectual property, but they have different roles. A trade name is an official name the company uses to conduct business. A trademark is a significant step in creating brand awareness and recognition in the marketplace. A trademark can be the same as the trade name, but more often, it is used as a specific proposition for the company’s goods and services.
For example, take the Coca-Cola Company. This manufacturer of beverages uses The Coca-Cola Company as its registered trade name worldwide. However, The Coca-Cola Company uses many brands to offer a wide selection of beverages. Besides the famous soft drink Coca-Cola, there are, for instance, Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes and Minute Maid. These are all examples of brands within The Coca-Cola Company. To protect their intellectual property, they are listed and registered as trademarks.
Coming up with a trade name or trademark is one thing; being able to claim ownership of that brand or trade name is another. Therefore, you must take several steps to protect your trade names and trademarks. These include researching, applying for a particular registration type and securing the name afterwards.
The first step to obtaining a registration is to do legal research to ensure that the new name does not infringe on someone else’s trademark or trade name right. The importance of this is illustrated by the case of Wendy’s in The Netherlands. The American fast-food chain Wendy’s tried many times to enter the Benelux market. To the Americans’ surprise, the name was already claimed by a small snack bar owner in Goes, Zeeland. It was initially named after his youngest daughter Wendy and up to this day, he kept his business name Wendy’s. Even after years of lawsuits, the court’s decision remained the same. As the small business owner claimed the name in 1995, the American fast-food chain Wendy’s has no chance of entering the Benelux with the same name in the same industry.
As a second step, analyse what registration you want for your name. Is it a trade name or trademark registration? Do you want to register a word mark or a figurative mark? What about online domain names? Whatever registration you choose, remember that the name has to be distinctive, and you need to apply for a suitable class of industries, such as chemical products, financial services, cleaning products and so forth. Depending on where you do business, registration can be obtained through multiple organisations. For example, if you only want to register in the Benelux, the BOIP register is sufficient. For the EU, you can go to EUIPO for an ETM. When trading includes worldwide operations, all types of registrations are applicable via the WIPO.
If your name has been registered, then your name is protected in many countries all around the world. This is the most common way to protect your name legally. In addition, other forms of intellectual property can be protected as well. We encourage you to register a name, logo, colour, design, and so forth that make your brand unique. After all, registration and protection of the name add value to your company. It is worth defending.
At Globrands, we offer a carefree solution for our clients. We combine our expertise in naming, branding and verbal identity with the legal basis for it. Therefore, together with our GNN partners all around the globe, we can deliver strong names that can be registered wherever it is desired.
