Delhi HC Restrains Foreign Company From Using ‘TATA’ TM in Cryptocurrency Trading

Delhi HC Restrains Foreign Company From Using ‘TATA’ TM in Cryptocurrency Trading

The Delhi High Court, ruling in favor of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd., has permanently restrained a UK-based company from unauthorisedly using the Registered Trademark ‘TATA’ of the Indian conglomerate for marketing and selling digital tokens or cryptocurrency.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh recently confirmed an ad interim injunction order of the Division Bench. She passed an order of permanent injunction against ‘HakunaMatata $TATA Founders,’ which has now changed its name to Hakumatata Token Ltd. and launched a new business website.

The Appellate Court had even asked the domain name registrar and company to take down the websites in the said lawsuit, including www.tatabonus.com and www.hakunamatata.finance.

In its order passed on 27th September 2022, the Delhi High Court said that the lawsuit in question was liable to be decreed by way of permanent injunction granted based on paragraph 30 of the judgment dated 19th September 2022, passed by the ld. Division Bench of the Court extracted hereinabove. The Court further said that no other reliefs were pressed.

Although the websites in question had no physical presence in India but were accessed in the nation daily, Tata filed the lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction restraining violation or infringement of its registered trademarks.

On 19th September 2022, the Division Bench had set aside an order passed by the Single Judge refusing interim relief to Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. While the Single Judge didn’t have a doubt over Tata’s entitlement to file the lawsuit in Delhi, it did, however, have a doubt over its extraterritorial jurisdiction to issue a legal injunction against the overseas parties through the way of an ad-interim order.

The Division Bench, in appeal, ruled that there undoubtedly were sufficient indicators to assume jurisdiction for deciding the application for an ad-interim injunction.

‘HakunaMatata $TATA Founders,’ subsequent to the filing of the lawsuit in question, took down its websites www.tatabonus.com and www.hakunamatata.finance and even changed its company name. It also launched a new website called ‘www.hakunamatatatoken.com’ by removing all references to the ‘TATA’ mark. Moreover, the name of the company’s cryptocurrency was also changed to $HKUN Token.

However, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. did send a legal notice seeking an undertaking from the company that it would never use the ‘TATA’ mark in the future, to which it didn’t receive any response.

Justice Singh, perusing screenshots of the websites, noted that other than changing the name of the cryptocurrency and domain names, even the ‘TATA’ merchandise being sold on the websites was rebranded as ‘HKUN.’

The Delhi High Court also mentioned that the defendant was repeatedly given notices and summons; however, they chose not to appear before the Court. The Court said that since no other physical or email addresses were available to contact the defendant and the impugned websites were also taken down, issuance of further notices and summons to the defendant in the lawsuit discussed became an impossibility. As of now, the defendant is being proceeded against ex parte. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Space Needle Sues Local Coffee Chain Alleging TM Infringement Over Its Logo

Space Needle Sues Local Coffee Chain Alleging TM Infringement Over Its Logo

The Space Needle, an iconic, 605 feet tall spire at the Seattle Center (with an observation deck and a rotating restaurant), has recently sued a local coffee chain alleging Trademark Infringement. According to the iconic tower’s owner, Local Coffee Spot, with four locations in the Seattle area, has been using the Space Needle’s trademarked logo in coffee shop branding and merchandise.

Local Coffee Spot’s logo features a mug of hot coffee with rising steam that resembles the observation tower’s logo, widely used on branded merchandise.

The owner of the Space Needle, a private company, said that Local Coffee Spot’s logo copied the iconic tower’s trademarked design and consequently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in the US District Court in Seattle. Karen Olson, the head officer in charge of the Space Needle’s operations and marketing departments, stated that the legal action in question is unusual, if not unprecedented, for the company.

The co-owner of Local Coffee Spot, Beau McKeon, shared his feeling of surprise with the filing of this lawsuit. He said that he couldn’t believe that the venture he started as a way to employ people during the COVID-19 pandemic has now drawn a trademark infringement lawsuit. He also mentioned that he and his team are feeling very victimized, being small guys, and the entire scenario is beyond bullying.

According to Olson, the Space Needle has never sued any individual or entity alleging trademark infringement in her tenure of nearly ten years. She said that since trademarks are only valid if their owners enforce them well, the Space Needle’s marketing team keeps searching for unauthorized use or misuse of the iconic building’s name, image, and likeness. She further mentioned that the private company has worked with hundreds and hundreds of businesses whose logos didn’t comply well. She firmly believes that most of the time, people don’t realize that the Space Needle’s symbol is a Registered Trademark.

Olson stated that the Space Needle is neither asking for any monetary compensation in the lawsuit filed nor anything egregious – all it wants is others to stop using its licensed trademark for which the private company shall work with them.

As per Olson’s statement, the private company had contacted Local Coffee Spot last year in March and offered to have the graphic design team at the Space Needle assist them with developing a new logo. The lawsuit filed specifies that Local Coffee Spot didn’t respond meaningfully to the initial conversation initiated by the Space Needle.

However, McKeon, on the other hand, said that he did respond, and the designers at the Space Needle never followed through with their offer of working together to develop a new logo design. Emails shared by McKeon as evidence were last dated on 15th July 2021, in which he had replied to the designers at the Space Needle, saying, “Excellent, what are the next steps?”
According to McKeon, the next time he heard from the Space Needle was last year in November when its legal team had contacted him. At that moment, he felt the attorney gave him no good options. He mentioned that the Space Needle failed to produce a designer’s name, number, or contact information on several occasions. McKeon said that Local Coffee Spot was willing to comply; however, it is not as successful as other coffee outlets, making millions of dollars a year.
Both parties involved claim that the other ignored coming to the planned meeting held this year in April to discuss a path forward. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Does the Use of TM on Google Ads Program as Keyword Constitute Infringement – Delhi HC to Consider!

Does the Use of TM on Google Ads Program as Keyword Constitute Infringement – Delhi HC to Consider!

The question of whether or not a trademark’s use on the Google Ads Program as a keyword would constitute Trademark Infringement is all set to be duly considered by the Delhi High Court.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh will be making a formal judgment on the said question while dealing with a lawsuit filed by Upcurve Business Services Pvt. Ltd., which is a company specializing in the travel business. Upcurve operates a one-stop travel website by the name of ‘udchalo.com’ and has also won several awards.

The lawsuit involved the plaintiff’s (Upcurve) mark ‘udChalo,’ which is registered in Class 39, relating to both online and offline travel arrangements, booking of seats, including air ticketing, flight booking, tours and travels, and so on.

According to the plaintiff, the defendants in the lawsuit include Easy Trip Planners Pvt. Ltd. (EaseMyTrip.com) and HappyFares.in, both of which were accused of using the term ‘udChalo’ as a keyword on the Google Ads Program to attract online users to their respective websites.

After recording Easy Trip Planners’ recording, the Court had earlier passed an order restricting it from using the plaintiff’s trademark as a keyword. Since HappyFares.in wasn’t represented in the Delhi HC, the Court was forced to grant an ad-interim injunction to restrain it from using the plaintiff’s ‘udChalo’ mark as a keyword for promoting its own travel business. Consequently, the Court opined that the use of the mark ‘udChalo’ by HappyFares.in would constitute trademark infringement. The Court noted that since HappyFares.in was involved in the business of travel services, its use of the mark ‘udChalo’ as a keyword to promote its business would be a violation of the plaintiff’s exclusive Trademark Rights.

Concerning whether or not the matter in question would constitute trademark infringement in law and whether or not the use of a trademark as a keyword would constitute a violation of the Trademark Law, the Court has ordered that the same shall be treated as a part-heard.

Last year in November, the Delhi HC had noted that the search engine giant Google couldn’t exonerate itself from taking the liability of making sure that a keyword doesn’t constitute an infringement of a trademark.

Justice V. Kameswar Rao had also observed that permitting individuals who are not the rightful trademark owners to choose or use a keyword that is a Registered Trademark or use some parts of the trademark interspersed with generic words in the Ad-text or Ad-title may constitute trademark infringement or passing off.

Furthermore, the Court had noted that the use of registered trademarks as keywords amounts to ‘use’ in the course of trade in terms of the Indian Trade Marks Act of 1999. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Twitter Restrains Singapore-Based Tech Firm from Using Bird Logo as Trademark

Twitter Restrains Singapore-Based Tech Firm from Using Bird Logo as Trademark

A local Singapore-based tech firm, V V Technology, has recently been restrained by the American social networking and microblogging platform, Twitter, from using a bird logo as its trademark following a dispute with the social media giant over the trademark’s registration. The start-up had plans of displaying the bird logo in a mobile app on which it has been working since December 2018. The objective of the mobile app is to serve as a platform hosting an extensive range of services and products catering well to the users’ personal and lifestyle requirements, such as food delivery and online shopping. The app is yet to be launched.

On its official website, V V Technology has mentioned that it uses the latest technology, including blockchain and AI, to reinvent the workspace and is dedicated to creating a smart and comprehensive enterprise and work management suite. An online check conducted by a Singaporean newspaper showed that the firm worked with the students of the Singapore Management University on projects focusing on online business solutions in 2019. Furthermore, the firm obtained a travel agent license from the Singapore Tourism Board two years ago for being able to provide travel-related services and products on its mobile app.

On 10th September 2018, V V Technology filed a Trademark Application to register a logo of a bird in flight. Twitter opposed the Trademark Registration by arguing that the logo was way too similar to its bird mark, which is an already existing Registered Trademark, among other things.

The American social media giant eventually defeated V V Technology in the case, with Mr. Mark Lim, the principal assistant registrar of trademarks, giving a judgment in its favor.

In his ruling dated 11th March 2022, Mr. Lim found that the two marks in question, although to a low extent, are visually similar. Among several other aspects, both logos portray a bird in the side profile and don’t show any features, such as the eyes. He also stated that the two logos are conceptually identical as they represent the notion of ‘bird in flight.’

In evaluating whether the consumers would get confused by the two logos in question, Mr. Lim said that the reputation and brand image of Twitter’s logo would reduce the possibility of confusion. However, he also found that the consumers may still get confused as they may perceive an economic link between the two logos. They may either believe that V V Technology’s logo is a new version of Twitter’s icon or that it is a modified logo that Twitter is using for its new set of digital services concerning its current business. He didn’t agree with V V Technology’s argument, which said that people who use mobile apps are digital natives. The tech firm had claimed that mobile app users were unlikely to get easily confused or deceived by the two logos. In his grounds of decision, Mr. Lim said that while some people may be more tech-savvy than others, a substantial proportion isn’t. He agreed with Twitter when it said that some services offered by both companies, including the ones related to the provision of info, are likely to be offered at low costs or for free. He added that an average customer is likely to pay a low or below-average degree of attention while procuring such services and is, therefore, more likely to get confused between the two logos.

When it comes to V V Technology’s mobile app, Mr. Lim said that there is no compelling reason concerning why an individual would pay due attention before installing a mobile app that is free of cost. He further stated that even if the wrong mobile app is installed, it is pretty simple to delete it and install the correct one. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Understanding the Importance of Trademarks for Small Businesses

Understanding the Importance of Trademarks for Small Businesses

Unless you own a Registered Trademark, your idea, concept, and unique branding can freely be stolen by your competitors in the present fast-paced society, which is indeed something you would never want to happen. After you spend all the time, effort, and money on your unique and creative branding, it becomes convenient for other businesses to copy what initially belongs to you. Therefore, without any second thoughts, small businesses do need to have a registered trademark like any other type and size of business out there.

Small businesses and startups with tight profit margins quite often overlook the utmost importance of protecting their most valuable asset, i.e., trademarks. Small business owners must know and understand well the following aspects:

  1. What is a trademark?
  2. Why is trademark a valuable form of Intellectual Property (IP)?
  3. What is the difference between a registered and unregistered trademark?
  4. Why is there a need to go ahead with Trademark Registration?

What exactly is a Trademark?

A trademark refers to any word, phrase, symbol, logo, or their combination that enables the customers in the market to know about the source of a product or service. A trademark is a company, product, or brand name. For instance, Coca Cola is a widely known trademark for cola products.

Trademarks are different from a patent and copyright, which are the other exclusive forms of IP.  When it comes to copyright, it prevents the artistic and creative works, like music recordings, novels, etc. from being used, copied, stolen, or distributed without the permission of the owner.  A patent protects the novel, useful, and non-obvious inventions, like a hybrid engine, a new microprocessor, etc. from being used by the competitors.

There are undoubtedly many good reasons explaining why every small business needs to have a registered trademark; let’s have a look at them:

  1. Official Trademark Registration

Keeping aside the size and type of your business, you need to make sure that you have a registered trademark in place for your small business, which shall help you significantly in preventing and facing critical issues in the future. It is a matter of fact that yes – trademark litigation lawsuits are both complicated and expensive, which can further deplete resources, effort, and time. Hence, if you are not willing to go through the hassle and stress down the road, you need to start considering the scope of getting a registered trademark for your small business.

  1. Brand Identity Protection

If you wish to protect your brand identity, you must own a trademark for your small business as you can then use the same on any concept or packaging solely or exclusively that you create for your brand. Following are a few points explaining the benefits of having a registered trademark for brand identity protection:

  • A trademark helps a business in gaining instant brand recognition.
  • A trademark becomes the core foundation and image of a business.
  • A trademark offers a massive degree of protection against reputation-damaging copycats.
  • A trademark stops the arch-competitors from making unauthorized use of a brand’s identity.
  1. Trademark Designation

The registered trademark designation helps in notifying the other businesses out there about the Trademark Rights associated with a small business’ brand name, logo, or symbol. If you own a small business and have a registered trademark for the same, it implies that your competitors can’t steal your brand identity, which is a result of your sheer hard work and brand building. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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8 Significant Trademark Terms You Must Know

8 Significant Trademark Terms You Must Know

In the present era of rapid advancements and cut-throat competition, the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) is exponentially increasing. Besides significance, thefts and unauthorized uses of IPs are also multiplying, thus making the owners think about the protection of their valuable IP. Amongst the several ways in which one can safeguard his/ her IP assets, trademark registration appears to be the easiest one when it comes to the protection of the businesses’ unique brand names, logos, or slogans. Apart from preventing the use of one’s hard work without his/ her permission, the trademark serves him/ her business with remarkable goodwill and reputation. And this is what makes it the foremost choice of many entrepreneurs and companies worldwide.

Trademark is assuredly emerging as one of the excellent kind of IP and interests more and more businesses, you still need to comprehend some frequently used terms while planning obtaining protection for your mark. In this article, we will explain a few important trademark terms in simple and understandable language.

  1. Trademark

 It can be anything like a sign, symbol, name, sound, or word that distinguishes its proprietor’s products or services from that of others.

  1. Class

A trademark class represents a distinct group of goods and services. As per the NICE Classification, which is an international classification system followed by most registries, the class of goods and services to which the trademark pertains must be specified in the application. There are many trademark classes, and each class holds various goods or services, which are not always obvious from the class name. Under NICE Classification, goods and services are divided into 45 classes, out of which 1-34 define goods while 34-45 include services.

  1. Priority Claim

Priority claim refers to a right given by the majority of countries worldwide to the applicant of a trademark that has been filed for the very first time. Under this, the applicant applying for registration of a mark for the first time is granted the right to claim priority while filing applications to register the same mark in other countries within six months from the date of the first filing. If priority is claimed, the second application would be considered as having been filed on the same date of the first filing. As a consequence, the applicant will enjoy prior rights against applications filed by other parties from the date of filing in the first nation.

  1. Infringement

Trademark Infringement is an issue, which occurs when a mark that’s identical or confusingly similar to another company’s trademark is used without the owner’s permission.

  1. Trademark Journal

 It is where the mark is published if the application hasn’t been refused by the duty officer during the trademark registration process. In this way, the Trademark Law provides the public with a legal opportunity to file an opposition against the registration of the associated mark. Note that the opposition should be filed within a limited period before Trademark Protection is granted.

  1. License

It is an agreement amid a trademark owner (licensor) and another party (licensee), where the licensor allows the licensee to make specific and limited use of his/ her trademark. These licenses are often subject to royalty payments.  

  1. Symbols ® and ™

The symbols ® and ™ represent that the term on which these are put is someone’s trademark. ® means that the trademark is registered with the associated registry, and this symbol cannot be used before the Trademark Registration Process is completed. However, ™ can be used if the company is using its mark as a trademark even though it hasn’t yet applied for their mark.

  1. Distinctiveness and descriptiveness

As the prime purpose of a trademark is to identify its origin, it must be distinctive to the consumers to be accepted by the registry. In general, arbitrary trademarks like Blackberry and fanciful trademarks like Nike are considered as the most distinctive ones. Along with being distinctive, your trademark should be descriptive, i.e., it describes some characteristics like the quality, quantity, value, origin, or intended purpose of the goods or services. Descriptive trademarks cannot be secured as a trademark unless their extensive usage enables them to have acquired distinctiveness.

The above information will hopefully prove beneficial for you, no matter whether you want to register your trademark or provide your Registered Trademark as a license to any third party. In other words, the data will help you in protecting as well as monetizing your trademark. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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All About the Trademark Registration in Maldives

All About the Trademark Registration in Maldives

A trademark is a type of Intellectual Property (IP), which includes a logo, brand name, or sign that can distinguish your products and services from those of others. Hence, Trademark Registration in Maldives or at any place is one of the best and legal ways to restrict others from using your unique mark. For instance, the logo of NIKE and its tagline JUST DO IT are registered trademarks, and therefore, cannot be used by any unauthorized user. In other words, no one can use this logo or tagline without the consent of the original owner.

A Registered Trademark can benefit the owner in several ways. For example, it reduces the chances of theft and misuse of original assets, creates the brand reputation and goodwill among the targeted customers, etc. So, we can say that trademarking your logo, sign, or name is an excellent means to enjoy remarkable advantages like:

  • Robust Trademark Registration Protection that keeps your assets secured against infringement
  • Better sales of your products and services by creating goodwill among consumers.

In view of the above merits, it is always recommended (even by the experienced IP Attorneys) to go for trademark registration as soon as you could. Nonetheless, trademark laws are country-specific, i.e., different nations have different laws. For instance, the Trademark Law of Maldives may not possesses the same rules as Trademark Law in India does. Hence, before proceeding to register a trademark, it is better to comprehend the law according to the country where you want to do so. Here, in this article, we will discuss the trademark registration in Maldives.

Indeed, there is no specific legislation that governs the Trademark Registration Process in Maldives. Here, the question arises – if there’s no specific law governing registered trademarks in Maldives, then how do people secure their trademark rights. And the answer is – the protection of trademarks in this country is obtained by the publication of the Cautionary notice in the newspaper in English or local language.

Trademark Registration Proceedings

As discussed above, the Trademark Protection in Maldives is acquired by publishing a cautionary notice in the leading newspaper. This notice can be published for multiple classes or a single class. The application can undoubtedly include products and services in any number of classes, but for each additional class, the applicant needs to pay additional charges. Power of Attorney isn’t required. The entire procedure to acquire trademark protection by using Cautionary Notice in Maldives may take around 2 to 4 weeks.

Although this procedure to obtain trademark protection doesn’t include filing, advertisement, and examination, the following information regarding the mark needs to be involved in the cautionary notice:

  • Name, status, address, and nationality of the proprietor
  • If the mark is a logo, then JPEG image of the same
  • Classes and specifications of relevant products & services.

Note that there is no limitation to the size of the cautionary notice.

Trademark Registration Duration and Renewal

Due to the lack of trademark law, the protection of trademarks in Maldives is obtained and used under common law, i.e., cautionary notice. Accordingly, there is no rule for the duration and renewal of trademarks. Nonetheless, the re-publication of the cautionary notice is recommended every two to three years.

Publishing a cautionary notice as per common law in Maldives is a way to make the public aware of the original owner’s ownership on the mark. Thus, the same can assuredly be brought to the Court in the case of Trademark Infringement. Hence, if you desire to enjoy the benefits of doing business in Maldives without any fear, cautionary notice is the safest and fruitful way. Be confident and go for this easy-to-get-protected option now. Nevertheless, if you face any difficulty or have any doubt, feel free to reach an experienced Trademark Attorney or Intellectual Property Law Firm in Maldives. These are the professional helping hands that will serve you with the best possible aid. Because of being familiar with almost everything to be used or avoid for ensuring robust trademark protection, they will keep you away from issues like the rejection of your request, infringement upon or violation of your mark, and many more. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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How to Develop a Trademark Strategy for Your Business?

How to Develop a Trademark Strategy for Your Business?

Are you planning to develop your business? It is significant to have a unique and distinct brand that’s recognizable by consumers as a sign of quality, trust, and satisfaction. These types of brands that attract business profits on one side are vulnerable to be infringed by others like competitors on the other side. Hence, a good trademark strategy is vital to create a brand that is easy to sell, satisfies the consumers, and maintains a distance from issues like Trademark Infringement. Trademark strategy can also help in ensuring that a unique name or logo representing your business will remain a symbol of your goodwill and reputation, instead of becoming descriptive of specific products originating from anyone.

Steps to Develop a Fruitful Trademark Strategy

  1. Execute Trademark Search

In the brainstorming stages of building your brand, a trademark search is helpful to determine whether or not any confusingly similar or identical trademark that can prevent Trademark Registration in regards to your product already exists. A trademark search, though, seems a little bit costly for firms having limited financial resources, yet it can help you in saving a lot of your hard-earned money that may likely get wasted on rebranding products and services once they were launched or promoted. It can also prevent issues like trademark infringement, and therefore, wastage of financial resources on settling them.

One can conduct a preliminary trademark search on his/her own. However, this type of search only captures trademarks identical to your mark in most cases. Besides, it fails to determine trademarks that have different spellings but the same sound, for example – Life and Lyfe. Accordingly, it is recommended to seek the help of an experienced Intellectual Property (IP) Attorney or trademark solicitor while conducting a trademark search.

  1. Be Careful About the Trademark Registration Process

After being familiar with the fact that trademarks can add a remarkable value to your brand, you may get tempted towards obtaining Trademark Protection in India or other nations for every symbol, name, etc., representing your business. Before proceeding, note that as the trademark registration procedure is country-specific, obtaining and enforcing several trademarks can be expensive as well as difficult. As a consequence, registering every single item in the vast suite of your business products doesn’t make commercial sense. Hence, Trademark Registration in India or any nation should always be carried out after prioritizing trademarks based on the value they provide and having complete information regarding how the process is carried out in the relevant nation.

  1. Market Your Trademark

The subsequent step in the trademark strategy procedure is to publicize your Registered Trademark to consumers so that they associate it with the satisfaction and quality related to your products and services. Do you rely on websites and social media platforms to advertise your products? Securing domain names and social media accounts will help in preventing competitors from making profits by using the same or similar names or accounts.

  1. Ensure Proper Usage

One pitfall trademark holder can fall into is condoning inappropriate trademark use by consumers and influencers in the area, spreading the usage in vernacular. One of the best examples of this is “Google®,” which was initially trademarked as a search engine but soon became a common verb to showcase searching for anything online. Although this isn’t always problematic for large brands; however, for small ones, it can lead to disastrous outcomes.

How can you prevent devaluing your trademark in this way? Ensure using your trademark protection for generic products or services that you are selling or planning to sell. Consider developing your marketing strategy based on the comparisons like – Kleenex® is the softest versus Kleenex® facial tissues are the softest. Avoid using your trademark in plural form instead of singular if it has been registered as a singular term.

  1. Fight Against Competitors

The aim behind developing a powerful trademark strategy is to make sure that your brand is the only one that makes profits on the goodwill and reputation you have created. To prohibit trademark infringement, you need to notify others regarding your trademark rights in as many as possible instances. For instance, if your trademark is registered, then you should showcase your trademarked term with ®. On the other hand, if it not registered, still you should mark it with TM symbol often put in superscript to notify others that you’re using the relevant symbol, word, or other as a trademark.

Wrapping Up

The precise trademark strategy can create goodwill and reputation that will uplift your brand from better to the best. Don’t forget that careful consideration and execution of an appropriate trademark strategy is not just beneficial but also essential to shaping consumer perception of your business’ products and services. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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TM and R: What Role These Trademark Symbols Play In IP Industry?

TM and R: What Role These Trademark Symbols Play In IP Industry?

Trademark, also written as trade-mark, is any word, name, design, symbol, or combination thereof used to indicate the source of products to identify and distinguish them from goods of others. Undoubtedly, the definition of this exclusive Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is clear to most of us, but what about the vital elements related to it. Besides, queries like whether you can use a specific mark and when can you file a trademark application, there are several areas of trademarks around which confusion abound. One remarkably confusing area is TM and R symbols. People often appear confused with what these two trademark symbols represent, when should one use them, etc.

What do TM and R Symbols Represent?

The TM symbol, which can be used by any individual or company, indicates that a particular word, logo, sign, or phrase is a trademark intended to work as an identifier for the source of the relevant product or service. To use a TM symbol, the owners don’t need to have a Registered Trademark. In general, many companies opt to use this symbol for new goods or services in advance of and during the Trademark Application Process.

On the contrary, the R symbol indicates that the specific word, phrase, logo, or sign is a Registered Trademark, and only the owner or licensee has the legal rights of ownership to use it. It must be used only in the regions in which the owner possesses a valid Trademark Registration.

Can TM and R Symbols be Used at Any Time?

The precise answer to this question is both yes and no. In the case of the first one, i.e., TM, where you want to use a word, phrase, sign, or logo as a trademark intending to identify your company as the source of products or services, you are free to do so any time. As per some privileges under the common law of many companies, you can use TM symbol without applying to register a trademark. However, it enables you to obtain the protection, which is quite lesser as compared to that you could have enjoyed as the owner of a registered trademark.

In cases where you don’t want to or unable to go for trademark registrations, the use of the TM symbol can be a strategic decision. It allows you to tell the public that you are using this brand as a trademark, which over an extended period, will become recognizable in the marketplace as an identifier for your business. Moreover, it also signifies that you have legalities to protect your brand in mind, and thus, ultimately act as a deterrent to severe Trademark Infringement.

On the other hand, the R symbol can never be used without successfully registering your trademark with the associated trademark office. The use of symbol R on the mark that has not been registered is a criminal offense. Doing so can leave you with penalties or behind bars. Hence, whenever you decide to use a trademark symbol, it is better to proceed after being aware of the rules related to that symbol. Although it is possible to obtain the required information from several sources, knowledgeable IP Lawyers can be the best option. They can provide you with precise info, clear your doubts, and assist you in getting rid of any legal concern if you have already misused any mark.

What Should Be the Location of TM and R Symbols?

The upper right corner of the sign, logo, or word is the most common place to put these two significant trademark symbols. Nevertheless, placement of the symbols on the bottom right corner is also acceptable in cases when placing them on the top don’t appear pleasing.

Bottom Line

Here at the end, you have a wealth of information about symbols TM and R that will help you to secure your valuable assets under the Trademark Protection. Recognize your needs and select the symbol that suits you. Although using the symbols even on the registered mark is not necessary, electing to use them is a good idea as it can prevent issues like infringement, and thus, limit the losses that you otherwise can come across. If you want to know about any other trademark symbol or more regarding these two, then consult an adept Intellectual Property Law Firm. Having years of experience in the Intellectual Property industry, they can serve you with the best possible guidance! For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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How to Protect Mobile Apps against Intellectual Property Theft?

How to Protect Mobile Apps against Intellectual Property Theft?

The speed with which enterprises across different sectors and industries are undergoing digital transformations has left the majority struggling for the protection of their data and Intellectual Property (IP). The reports showing tremendous losses due to theft and duplication of mobile apps worldwide each year clarifies that only firewalls are no longer sufficient to protect these assets. As more and more companies adopt the use of mobile devices and applications, the threats extend far beyond the traditional concepts. With the estimation that 80% of tasks would be going to take place through mobile apps by 2020, securing them must be the top priority for their developers. Businesses should realize that if a mobile app can make them; it can also break them in case the innovative and valuable source code gets stolen. It is because mobile apps are inherently vulnerable to hacking, copying, and more. To understand this phenomenon and learn how to protect your mobile applications against the growing threat of IP theft, read further.

What is IP Theft in Regards to Mobile Apps?

Intellectual property refers to a category of valuable assets that includes intangible creations of human intellect. In general, types of IP vary from country to country; however, some most common ones are copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. Digital IP encompasses algorithms and source codes, while mobile IP theft involves piracy and cloning of whole or parts of mobile apps.

Why and How Should You Protect your Mobile Apps?

Designed to bring a multitude of services at the users’ fingertips, mobile apps’ flexibilities and portabilities make them attractive to not just users but infringers as well. Hence, it is as imperative to fully preserve your app’s functionality as it is to protect the app itself. Well, mobile application protection software is an excellent tool to safeguard your app. By mutually reinforcing multiple layers of non-stop protection integrated into your app’s code, it can defend your app’s integrity and buzz off security threats while optimizing app performance. Nonetheless, relying on application protection software alone may not be sufficient in many cases, especially when the theft of unique code or app can result in reputational losses. Therefore, in addition to mobile application protection software, you must emphasize protecting your apps with patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other relevant Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). For instance, copyright registration can prevent copycats from copying your app codes or user interface (UI) elements. Besides, if you want to safeguard your apps’ artistic aspects like images, sound, videos, etc., then also Copyright Protection is the best tool.

Filing a Patent Application is another significant way to reinforce the protection of your mobile app. Although, in general, the technological arrangement of mobile apps and the way how they communicate with other mobile apps/devices and servers are patentable, the patentability criteria still vary from country to country. Hence, to avoid any delay or monetary loss due to the rejection of your patent application, you must always proceed after ensuring if your app is eligible to obtain Patent Protection. A knowledgeable Patent Attorney can assist you in checking whether your app suffices the patentability criteria or not, learning How to Apply for a Patent without committing any mistake, and more.

The name and logo that make the viewer identify and distinguish your mobile app from others are crucial assets, and no one except you should make profits from these. Trademarks are the IPRs that have been intended to safeguard one’s identity by preventing others from using the same or similar name or mark, which may create confusion. A Registered Trademark will also increase your mobile apps’ credibility, and thus serve you with more users. Hence, you should never miss out on the opportunity of securing your app’s name and logo under Trademark Protection.  

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, ensuring comprehensive protection of your mobile application against IP theft is not only arduous but appears impossible in some cases. However, if used together, the above-mentioned mobile application protection software and Intellectual Property Protection tools will never let you down due to the theft or misuse of your app. So, whether you are coming up with a new app or revamping an already existing one, it is always advisable to devise an appropriate strategy by combining these two protection shields. Don’t forget that it is the aptest way to make benefits from your mobile app without any concern in today’s era, where such applications are a part of continuously changing and fast-moving technology. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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