trademark registration process in india Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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