The Definitive Step-by-Step Guide to Trademark Registration for Modern Brands

Today’s marketplace is highly competitive, with brands extending from simple names or symbols (trademarks) to identities that represent trust and value.

Though an unregistered trademark may be well-known, potential for imitation exists, negating the security and protection afforded by registration.

Therefore, the registration of a trademark establishes the owner of the mark and the legal rights stemming from ownership. 

The legal rights granted to a business owner include, among other things, the exclusive use of the mark, as well as the right to pursue an action against an infringer.

Establishing and protecting your brand will be crucial to the success of your business as you grow your operation and seek additional funding.

The protection is not limited to the business itself and also applies to the business’s website, goods and services. Therefore, having a registered mark can improve the business’s position online as well as providing an opportunity to expand into that market.

So, let’s take a look at how to register a trademark in the simple and easiest way possible! Read on…

How To Register A Trademark: Steps Of Registering

In order to increase the likelihood of approval for your application as well as to avoid legal problems, you should conduct a thorough review of your brand, including if it is available for registration in the country where you want to register.

Step 1: The Trademark Audit & Selection

The next step in the trademark registration process is to check the name or proposed trademark for its uniqueness and to determine whether or not it can be used to provide the necessary trademark protection from being used by other businesses.

Conducting an audit for uniqueness and protecting a brand name or logo from being used by other businesses ensures a trademark is used appropriately during the trademark registration process and that it identifies a specific person or business as a source of goods or services.

Step 2: The Comprehensive Clearance Search

Once a likely or possible mark has been identified the next step is to verify that there are not any other trademarks registered or pending that may conflict with the chosen mark. This is accomplished by trademark search and by conducting market research for your products/services.

Step 3: Application Filing (Form TM-A)

The next step in the online trademark registration process is to file the trademark application with the Trademark Registry.

The online application Form TM-A will require information about you as the applicant, the mark, what class of goods/services will be associated with it, as well as your basis for using it.

This step in the process is critical as it can affect when your registration may be granted and your ability to obtain your trademark.

Step 4: Examination and Response

After filing your application it will be reviewed by the Trademark Office to ensure that it meets the requirements of a distinguishable mark and to ensure there are no prior registered trademarks conflicting with your mark.

If you receive an Office Action on your application you must respond within the specified time frames providing evidence in support of your request for registration both legally and factually. The more convincing your response is to the Trademark Office the greater the chances you have of obtaining your trademark registration through the online process.

Step 5: Publication in the Journal

Once the application passes its examination, the application will be published in the Trademark Journal for public review. It is now available for third parties to oppose the registration if their rights would be violated by the application.

However, if no oppositions are made within the specific statutory time frame, the application is allowed to move forward to full registration.

Step 6: Addressing Opposition (If Any)

If a third party files an opposition after the application has been published, then the applicant must respond carefully and within the required timeframe to that opposition.

This is where the determination of the progress of the trademark in the registration process occurs.

• To oppose an opposition, an applicant must file a counter-statement with the required time.
• The applicant will be required to provide proof of use of the mark, proof of distinctiveness of the mark and proof of prior use of the mark.
• The applicant will be required to analyze the evidence that the competitor provided and prepare a defense to that evidence.
• If required, the applicant will be required to attend a hearing at the Trademark Registry.
• The applicant will be required to wait for the final decision regarding the submissions made and arguments presented.

Step 7: Registration and Maintenance

As soon as an application for a trademark has successfully been through the opposition period and there have been no objections filed against it, the Trademark Office will grant the Trademark Registration Certificate and the applicant will have received the certificate.

Therefore, at this point in time the trademark is considered to be “fully protected”. The registered owner has the only right to use the trademark in connection with the approved business goods and/or services.

This is also the end of the process of how to register a trademark; it is equally important to maintain a trademark in order to maintain the rights granted by the registered trademark.

This can be accomplished by continuing to use the trademark in the course of a business, along with maintaining the ability to renew a registration every 10 years in order to continue the registration of the trademark and to prevent the trademark from becoming obsolete.

By taking these steps, the registered trademark will continue to be a valuable benefit for the business that the registered trademark is intended to protect.

Conclusion

Trademark registration is not just an administrative procedure but is actually a strategic way of protecting brands in the current marketplace. Brands can easily protect themselves against any kind of trademark issue or problem by simply following a certain procedure step by step. Each and every step, including selection as well as clearance of the trademark, is of utmost importance in protecting the trademark of the business or organization.

For start-up businesses, knowing how to register a trademark can ensure proper and timely registration of the trademark. It is essential. It not only provides clarity in terms of the ownership of the brand but is very useful in expanding the business. With this approach, the brand is not only an entity in the market but is protected as well.