In our business world, in order to establish the prominence of a business and its impact, one of the ways we can effectively communicate its purpose and most importantly its relevance in the market square is by using a trademark. Not just to announce the arrival of a business entity but also to principally and successfully promote it among several others. A trademark is simply a recognizable sign, token or symbol that describes a product or service and by extension it makes it legally differentiated from every other one that may be closely related or may be termed as similar products. For instance, it may be a collection of words, letters or numericals and it can as well take the form of non-visible signs such as sounds, fragrance or distinguishable color-shades. A trademark explicitly recognizes a product as belonging to a particular company which in turn validates the company's ownership of the brand. Fundamentally, they are considered as a form of intellectual property which may be registered or not (at the business owner's discretion)
Registering your business' trademark comes with some great advantages such as offering an exclusive protection for your business and products and also legally affirming the rightful holder of a trademark in the case of litigation.
At the national/regional level, trademark protection can be acquired by filing an application for registration with the national/regional trademark office and paying the required fees. For example, in the United States, trademarks registration is authorized and approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and are identified with the ® symbol.
However, at the international level, there are two options: the first is filing a trademark application with the trademark office of each country in which one is seeking protection, or using WIPO’s Madrid System
Madrid System is a centralized system designed by WIPO (World intellectual Property Organization) as a means of proferring a convenient and cost-effective solution for registering and managing trademarks globally. It requires filling just a single international trademark application and paying one set of fees to apply for protection in up to 130 countries. The modifications, expansion and renewal of your global trademark portfolio is possible through this avenue.
A trademark grants a legal status of the uniqueness of a particular product or service from other related products and recognizes the source company's ownership of the brand.
Trademarks which have been registered are denoted by the ® designation while those unregistered ones use ™ symbol.
Using a trademark disallows others legally from using a company or individual's products or services without being authorized or approved by the permission of the rightful owner. It also prohibits any symbol or marks that carry a degree of semblance to an existing one. Meaning that a business cannot use a symbol or brand name or a logo that is closely affiliated to another brand that has been registered, most especially if the products or services are related to one another. For instance, a tech company can not legally use a sign or symbol that looks like that of Mac or iPhone and it can't use a name that sounds like Apple.
Moreover, It is a point worth noting that trademarks do not necessarily have to be registered in order to give the company or individual protection rights. So, we can still have unregistered trademarks being recognized with the ™ symbol. When businesses use this symbol, it simply indicates that they are using common law as a leverage to protect their interests and products.
