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Registration of trademarks: essential for trademark protection

The registration of your trademarks is vitally important since a trademark registration gives you the exclusive right to use the trademark (or, rather, to stop others from using it). The registration of your trademark is an important first step towards protection of your trademark. It provides you with an important means for taking action against third parties that attempt to use the same trademark or a similar one. The registration of your trademark gives you a unique position in the market and optimum trademark protection.

Think carefully about registration

To make it easier to register your trademark, it is advisable to perform a trademark search in advance. The search will find out whether the trademark already exists and whether you can make undisturbed use of your chosen brand name. When registering a trademark, it is important that you carefully consider the areas for which you want trademark protection. It is important to register your Intellectual Property in all countries where you produce or offer products and services.

The manner of trademark registration should also be carefully considered. After all, protection can only be invoked for what has been registered. The registration thus determines the scope of protection for the trademark. It is not enough to determine the countries for which you want a trademark registration; you should also consider for which products or services you want to register your trademark.

The importance of good classification

Every type of product or service must be listed in the class or classes that they fall within. The International Classification is a list that outlines the products and services and contains a total of 45 classes, 34 for products and 11 for services. By using different classes, it is possible for the same marks and brand names to coexist as they will not necessarily conflict. A good example is the Dove brand. On the one hand, it is well known as a Unilever personal care product (Class 1 and 3) and, on the other hand, as a Mars chocolate bar brand (Class 30 and 31).

The description of the correct classification appears straightforward, but it is prone to error. As more and more individuals and organisations choose to register trademarks on their own, there are also more and more mistakes are being made (more than 20%). It is clear that the registration of a trademark in the wrong class can have terrible consequences. You may think that the right protection has been granted and a false sense of security will be created. We at Novagraaf will be happy to eliminate this false sense of security for you, and make sure that you are obtaining the protection that you require.

Trademark protection

With a trademark search as a compass, a clear description of your market and the correct classification, you will lay an important basis for your trademark registration. A trademark is then created by means of formal registration. If a trademark is not formally registered, it is not protected as, if you do not register your trademark in good time, others can use it and even register it themselves. After all that effort, time, energy and money, it is crucial that you are permitted to use your own trademark.

Would you like to know more about the registration of trademarks and trademark protection?

If you have any questions about registering and protecting your trademarks, please get in touch with one of our consultants. They will be happy to be of assistance. They can also inform you about trademark search, trademark watching and trademark infringement. You can contact them using the contact form on the right top of the page.

If you are  a small business active in your own country and would like to know more about obtaining national rights, click here for more information. If you are mainly active overseas, please click here.