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Brands or brand names are often referred to as trademarks and are used often by several companies to differentiate their goods from their competitors. Trademarks are regulated by the Trademarks act 2002. Some examples of trademarks are the apple logo on any apple product, the shape of an Axe perfume bottle, the sound of a Harley Davidson bike and so on.
What is the popular misconception about trademarks?
Several companies have several distinctive trademarks or brands but fail to register them because most of them believe that a unique name of the company gives them distinction over other companies but this is untrue. The registration of a unique company name does not allow the owner to take action against anyone using a similar name or producing similar goods.
What can be a trademark and what are its benefits
A company works hard for long periods of time to earn goodwill and reputation in the market and protecting this goodwill is essential because anyone with a similar name or similar product could also start reaping benefits which might be harmful to the company. The identity of a business is protected if it has a registered trademark, which gives it exclusive rights over several things such as name, smell, signature, word, sound, picture, shape, color or any combination of these as long as they are unique.
The rights a company/business receives after registering a trademark
If a company or a business register a trademark, it receives a statuary right to protection of the trademark. This protection is given throughout the country regardless of the reputation of the business or company. The symbol ® can be used to inform the consumers and the competition that a trademark is registered. Trademark registration is essential as they are valuable assets of any business or firm and can be licensed or sold. If any competitor starts to use any trademark of any other company or a very similar feature, a trademark gives the business or company the right to get easy relief.
How to register a trademark in India
Any company or business can register a trademark by applying and registering online. One must be very specific about the goods and services one will be using the mark on. It involves describing the mark and informing the date of first use of the mark. All the necessary legal documents need to be submitted along with evidence and pictures need to be submitted and once the Trademark™ is approved, any company or business can use it freely.
