Trade marks (USA: Trademarks)

Having invested in creating your brand, it's vital to ensure that you protect it properly. We're often asked to manage the trade mark registration process on behalf of our clients, or work in conjunction with existing legal support teams.

Trade mark law is complex and open to interpretation, but there are some key points that underpin how it works:

• A trade mark is in essence a 'badge of origin'.
• You can register a word, a visual mark (eg logo) or a combination of both.
• You can register your mark in one or more of the 45 official classes (UK), which cover a wide variety of services and products.
• You cannot register a blanket trade mark across all classes.
• It's possible to lose the rights to your trade mark if you don't actively use and protect it.
• Trade mark law is not designed to protect the owners of registered trade marks. It exists to protect consumers from potential confusion.
• Trade mark is a local law, and different countries have their own trade mark registers. But there are protocols that allow trade marks to be accepted across multiple territories (eg much of Europe).
• Trade marks are published for a period of time before a decision is taken on their acceptance into the register, giving other interested parties time to lodge objections.
• The TM symbol doesn't mean that the trademark is registered. Anyone can use the TM symbol, but only owners of a registered mark can use the R symbol in the territories where the mark is actually registered.

NB for existing trade mark holders: Important changes have been made to the examination process (effective October 1st 2007). Under the previous system, marks were refused if an earlier conflicting mark existed, but now the owners of the original mark may have to object, or the new mark may be granted. If you have an EU trade mark, you'll need to 'opt-in' to receive notifications of new applications that could conflict.

Please contact us If you'd like to discuss ways to better protect your identity or intellectual property. Although we're not solicitors or professional trade mark agents, we can work alongside your existing legal team, or point you in the direction of advisers who can help you achieve your goal.