Everything You Need to Know About Trademark Standards for your Business

Trademarksoftheworld

A trademark is your business identity. It can be a logo or descriptive words that relate to your unique brand and can be used by a sole trader or by an international corporation. Once registered, anyone trying to use your distinctive trademark can be fined. In the UK you can register your trademark with the HYPERLINK “http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm/t-about/t-whatis.htm”Intellectual Property Office.

Trademarks are international

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, (WIPO): ‘trademarks promote initiative and enterprise worldwide by rewarding the owners of trademarks with recognition and financial profit.’ If you have developed a brand in the UK and want to develop it overseas, you should contact international lawyers or notaries, including Vanner Perez Notaries in order to ensure that your trademark is unique in all countries.

**How to research trademarks **

You can carry out a search and register your trademark with the WIPO for all territories governed by the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, or you can register your brand with every single national office. If you don’t use a professional in your overseas registration you may find the whole process costly and confusing.

Explaining trademarks – Fleischer Studios v Avela

One of the easiest ways of explaining the complicated world of trademark standards is to look at a case that was recently heard in the UK’s high court as a result of the alleged infringement of copyright law. The case between Avela Inc and Fleischer Studios came to court when one side accused the other of selling its iconic Betty Boop logo on bags in the UK.

Fleischer Studios claimed that it had sole licence for Betty Boop merchandise and said that Avela was infringing trademarks that belonged to them as a result of distributing and selling merchandise portraying this logo. Fleischer Studios won its action in February this year and the World Intellectual Property Review carries a full account of this complicated case.

Registering a trademark

The most important reason to have a trademark is that it will make your product stand out and define your brand. Most people on the planet will recognise the McDonald’s logo, and when it was used as just an illustration rather than in conjunction with the name of the company during the FIFA World cup, TV viewers identified the logo with the brand.

When you are designing a logo you must make sure that it is unique, distinctive and differentiates your services from those of others. The business world is littered with stories of woe from those who didn’t bother to register their trademark and later found others used it for their own commercial gain.

**Trademark standards **

Once you have registered your trademark, it cannot be changed. If you want to simply use your trademark in the UK registration will cost £170, but European registration will cost more and takes far longer. You will have to register your chosen mark by class, and there are 45 of these. The process can seem laborious but since you are protecting your logo and your brand identity, it’s well worth it in the long run.

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