Registering a trade mark shouldn’t be daunting or expensive. If you get it right at the start, it will protect your brand reputation and identity as you grow, but it is important to get it right. Here we offer some top tips for brands after we recently supported our client Thatchers Cider in a trade mark battle with Aldi.
Do: value your brand
Registering trade marks is an important step towards securing your brand and its reputation, as it prevents others from using branding that exploits the prestige your company has worked hard to build up.
Don’t: just file a logo
This is a common error, as registering a logo on its own only protects it as is, for example in that style and colour, so there’s little protection if / when you update it. Trade marks also form part of a multitude of registered and unregistered intellectual property rights – the best strategies for brand protection consider all forms of protection.
Don’t: try and do everything
Although some forms of registration are relatively inexpensive, and unregistered rights such as copyright carry no cost, it can be daunting and unproductive to attempt to protect everything – commercial merits of the territories the brand is sold in, the marketplaces it is sold through and the elements that make up the brand all need to be considered.
Do: speak to a specialist
Building a comprehensive brand strategy requires specialist knowledge and experience. Your strategy should include protection, enforcement, monitoring and commercialisation; and the strategy needs to be lived out in a consistent but pragmatic manner. Most brand strategies need the involvement of multiple parties, including both internal and external experts.
To find out more about how to protect or enforce trade marks, or for any advice if you are the recipient of enforcement communications, please get in touch with our specialist Trade Marks team.