Friday, 17 February 2017

Why Should You Register Your Trademark Internationally?


One of the most significant aspects of protecting a trademark in present times is protecting the trademark internationally. This is because this is the simplest way to get the register the trademark globally. A trademark owner should register the trademark from an international trademark registration services in every country where it wants protection.

Here is a list of the importance of registration of a trademark for businesses. 

Helps Online Businesses to Reach Out to More Customers

One of the primary benefits of an e-commerce business is that it helps to reach out to the customers more easily. The products that you offer are available to international consumers. It is up to you where you will ship your products. Since the internet has made it much more convenient to have global access. This, in turn, leads to the growth of your business which is considered to be a difficult task by retailers and other product distributors.

Once your trademark reaches the international market, the product brand and name will become more appealing for the growth in popularity. If you register your business in countries where your products are available, it will prevent businesses from making an attempt to confuse the buyers by producing a product with a similar name. Some fraud company might also trade in your popularity simply by adopting your logo, name, or other signifiers of the brand for their own profit. This might damage your reputation and decrease your profit as the company might be offering inferior quality products.

Makes the Business More Vulnerable to the Overseas Counterfeit

Apart from those who want to profit from your name, there are others who might want to replicate the product for their own profit and trademark. The counterfeit market is a flourishing market overseas, especially if a company does not register its trademark from international trademark registration services

The trademark law offers protection against the counterfeit imports. If you register a trademark in the countries where you feel counterfeit is rising, you can cut down the flow of illicit goods carrying the name of business and mark. It enables you to involve the government of the country where your products are being replicated illegally and thereby prevent them from reaching the shores other than the home country.

Supply Chain will Involve International Commerce

Even if you do not plan on selling your products worldwide, they might have an international reach in some other ways. Depending on what you are selling and how the product is being manufactured, you should know where the suppliers operate and where they are based. You should register a trademark in the countries where your supply chain operates. This can help in preventing the supplier from using your name in order to profit from the involvement with the business. A company might be presenting themselves as a division of the business. With registered trademarks, these situations can easily be prevented. 

To get a proper trademark, it is important to get in touch with a trademark attorney. Do not forget to find out the kinds of protection that you will be receiving from the trademark.

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Facts about International Trademark Registration

If you are a business owner or a private service provider, you must have heard about the importance of registration of trademark not just domestically but internationally. As more and more businesses and brands expand their presence in international markets, it has become very important to have a clear idea about the procedures and intricacies involved in registration of a trademark. 

What exactly is a Trademark?
 
A trademark can be a work, design, symbol, or phrase or a combination of these that represents the identity of a certain business, their products and services. It is through a trademark that a business and its products are recognized and set apart from others. While registration of a trademark is not exactly required or necessary, it is essential to give the registrant the right to use the trademark, whatever it might be, exclusively in their products and services. 

After the registration of a trademark, the registrant has the sole right to use the trademark within its chosen jurisdiction. However, contrary to popular belief, there is no one registration that will provide complete international protection. You need to follow a number of steps to protect your trademark internationally. 

The Madrid Protocol 

This protocol is known for providing an international registration of trademarks. Managed by the International Bureau of WIPO located in Geneva, the Madrid Protocol facilitates in the filing of applications for trademark registration in several countries at the same time. Each request for the protection of Madrid member is carefully examined and it is made sure that it is in compliance with the trademark laws and legislation of the country from which the request originates. 

In order to understand the process better, get in contact with an IP lawyer who has a working knowledge of the trademark services registration laws of that particular country. They will be able to help you fulfill all the registration requirements and guide you through the process. 

Applying Through the Madrid Protocol 

In usual cases, the trademark application to be filed through the Madrid protocol is first required to be filed via the office of origin. The office of origin is where the original trademark was filed. An international registration through the Madrid Protocol is protected for a total period of 10 years starting from the date of registration. A registration can be renewed every three years on payment of the required fees. 

Important Requirements to Get an International Application 

As you might have guessed, your application needs to fulfill some requirements to get accepted and be considered. Firstly, the application must meet the entitlement requirements within the country of origin and must have an application domestically to base the international application on. The trade mark on the international application must be in compliance with that on the domestic one. This is a nonnegotiable factor that determines whether the application will be considered and accepted. 

Before filing for international protection by trademark services, gather as much information as you can about their working. This will ensure that you get it right the first time.