If you are considering registering your business trade mark, you need to be aware of the correct use of trade marks online and offline. There are certain guidelines that must be followed by anyone who is establishing their trade mark and here, we take a look and those rules and the benefits of registration.
Basic Guidelines For A New Trade Mark
There are certain guidelines that need to be followed by anyone who is keen to register their trade mark either for online or offline trading. In order to be registrable, a trade mark has to be:
- Distinctive
- Anything which can be graphically depicted.
- Not deceptive
- Not descriptive
- Not a geographical name or common surname
- Not a national flag or another person’s heraldic device
- Not confusable with earlier registered marks
Searching For Conflicting Registrations
Regardless of how well you know your competitors and your market, you can’t always be certain you won’t infringe another person’s rights if you use your trade mark. Infringements, even unintentional ones, can risk serious consequences. This is why you should search for any potentially conflicting trade mark registrations before launching a new trade mark.
Why Register Trade Marks?
Whether you’re trading offline or online, you need to be certain that you are protecting your trade mark by registering it. This will ensure that, in the event of an unauthorised third party using an identical or similar mark you will have a valid case against them for violation.
Although any trader who uses a trade mark has certain common law rights, these are more expensive and difficult to enforce compared with the rights that come from having a registered trade marl. Therefore, it’s important to register your mark so that you can have a monopoly on its use in relation to the services and goods for which you have registered it.
