Intellectual Property, Trade marks, Uncategorized

Why you should first check the availability of your trademark

Maaike Witteman

Maaike Witteman

m.witteman@lioc.nl

“Fashion company Omoda objects against the introduction of a new car brand with the same name”. The newsarticle was in the news last week on several news outlets. This is not the way in which you want to introduce your new brand to the world. A well thought out trademark is the cornerstone of your comapny. A calling card with which you can distinguish your goods and services from those of others. Apart from being able to distingwuish, it is important that you check your trademark for availability at the start. Here is why:

1. Avoid Legal Conflict

Starting with a thorough availability search can prevent costly legal conflicts with trademark holders with older rights. Before introducing your new brand to the world you can make an assessment of possible objections of third parties you may encouter and thereby prevent high legal costs.

2. Protect your investment

Not only legal conflicts are costly affairs. If you have to change your company name after introduction it can be costly to change your domainname and other markting and promotion material you may have already designed and printed. So protect your financial investment in the development and marketing of your trademark by checking the availability before hand and avoid unpleasant surprises.

3. Build a Strong Brand Identity

A unique and recognisable trademark, which does not cause any confusion with others, helps towards building a stronger brand identity. This is essential for building client relations and trust.

In short

Before launching your new brand make sure to do a trademark availability search. This does not only lower the risc of legal conflict but also provides you with a solid basis for growth of your brand. To obtain valuable insights from a trademark search you need to do more than a quick search of your brand in the register. Therefore we recommend that you have a certified trademark attorney advise you.

Do you want to find out if your company name is still available for trademark registration? Please reach out and send us a message.

  
Foto van Markus Winkler via Unsplash.com