The growth across the globe for new and robust technologies is creating an exceedingly competitive environment where the competition for brand recognition is becoming fiercer day by day. Trademarks safeguard distinctive marks such as brand names, designs, logos, to name a few. Having Trademark Protection in place enables the trademark owner to exclude others from using his Registered Trademark without obtaining his permission. In this article, we’ll be discussing the top 5 trademark protection considerations for every other tech entrepreneur out there.

  1. Create a Strong Brand 

Although a brand can cover many different aspects of your overall marketing and business strategy, its crucial function lies in ensuring that it distinguishes your services or products from those offered by others in the market. Without any second thoughts, one of the best and most effective ways of safeguarding your brand is going ahead with its Trademark Registration.

Trademarks usually consist of conventional marks like words and designs, but even non-conventional marks like three-dimensional shapes, tastes, textures, sounds, colors, scents, holograms, modes of packaging, positions, and moving images can be registered as trademarks only if they serve to distinguish your services or products from those offered by others in the market.

Creating a strong, unique trademark and diligently safeguarding it should be the top-most priority of every other entrepreneur out there. Remember, the strongest trademarks are always distinctive and fanciful. To be specific, they do not clearly define any characteristics or features of the product or service in question and do not serve any functional purpose as well.

  1. Ensure that Your Proposed Trademark is Available

Before committing to your proposed trademark, it is imperative to check whether the same is available for registration and use. Performing a Trademark Search can help you significantly in evaluating if any already registered trademarks in the Trademark Register or market may be an obstacle to the registration or use of your proposed trademark. Trademark availability searches differ from country to country and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. They can be in the form of a quick high-level review of the Trademark Register or its comprehensive investigation. It is recommended to seek professional assistance concerning the level of trademark search that would best suit your overall requirements and budget.

  1. Go Ahead with Trademark Registration

Going ahead with trademark registration has many benefits to offer to a trademark owner, including:

  • An exclusive right to use the registered trademark concerning the specified products or services in the designated country or jurisdiction;
  • Additional means of enforcement against infringing third parties and individuals;
  • Options to buy, sell, and license the registered trademark; and
  • Ease to renew the registered trademark indefinitely every ten years.

Kindly note – a corporate or business name registration doesn’t give you the same set of rights as trademark registration. Rights can be developed over time through the mark’s use and without registration; however, these common law rights are territorially restricted and are generally way more costly to enforce.

  1. Safeguard Your Trademark Abroad

As a business owner, if you are looking forward to expanding your business abroad, you should safeguard your trademark in every key export market of your business. Additionally, you may consider seeking trademark protection in nations where your products are manufactured. In case you fail to secure adequate trademark protection abroad, you may get locked out of a market or be compelled to rebrand where your trademark is at an enormous risk of infringing upon someone’s already registered rights.

  1. Keep Your Registered Trademark Well-Thought-Of

Once a trademark gets registered, its owner must put in a genuine effort to ensure that the same is used adequately. It involves challenging third parties and individuals who make uncontrolled or improper use of your registered trademark and governing your own use to make sure that the trademark doesn’t end up becoming a generic name of your products or services.

A registered trademark can become prone to cancellation based on its non-use. The period of non-use that can lead to the cancellation of a registered trademark varies from one nation to another but is generally between 03 and 05 years.