You have been thinking back and forth about what to name your new business and after many hours you’ve finally found the perfect brand name. Now things start to take shape, a logo is designed, promotional material is produced, your business begins to get some recognition and you get your first customers. Your business is developing, and nothing can stop you!

Until a boring email drops into your inbox and it turns out that you are infringing on an already registered trademark. The worst thing that could have happened is now reality – you must change your brand name! All your costs for marketing materials, a lot of the strength and energy you put in has been for nothing. Time to start over from the very beginning…

How do you avoid worst-case scenario?

To avoid these mistakes there is something called trademark registration which makes the name of your brand secure. To get there, you first need to know about what a trademark is and what kind of name is possible to register.

A trademark is a sign that distinguishes your product or service from others and creates recognition for your customers. The best trademark names are pure fantasy words with no meaning since it is not possible to register a descriptive trademark. However, you can use a suggestive name as long as it is not descriptive for the product or service it concerns.

Before you choose the name of your brand you need to be sure that no one else has already registered the same name. The best way to do this is by a Trademark Search Report, it helps you to find already filed and registered trademarks in several international trademark databases.

You probably know some trademarked names that are the same. The reason for this is the classification system. It is possible to apply for and register trademark names that are identical to other registered trademarks if the product or service is not the same or similar. The trademark system in Sweden, European Union (EU) and many other countries is based on a so-called “Nice Classification System”. It contains 45 trademark classes, so you can distinguish different products and services from each other.

Apply for a European Union Trademark (EUTM)

To secure your trademark in all countries within the EU you can apply for an EUTM directly which covers all member countries in the EU. This means that you not only secure your name for the country you start to use your trademark in but also for the whole EU.

Today it is very easy to expand your business to other countries – therefore we recommend applying for an EUTM directly.

When you register your EUTM the authority does not check whether any identical or similar trademarks exist. You need to monitor your trademark yourself to prevent infringes and therefore, it is necessary to use a Trademark Watching Service. By monitoring your trademark, you will be informed each week if any identical or similar applications occur, this way it is possible to stop them in time.

What are the main reasons to get a trademark protection?

• Exclusive rights – It gives you an exclusive right to use your trademark name or logo in the countries that your trademark has been registered in.

• Insurance – You get an assurance that you do not infringe on other company’s already registered trademark.

• Increased value – The registered trademark’s brand value increases and it becomes more secure to invest in.

Does all this sound complicated?
– We are here to help!

In a traditional application process, you often pay all the lawyer fees, the classification work and the application fee when you file the application – which may be financially difficult for a business just started.

InstanTM cares for startups and provides a subscription service which makes it possible to apply for a registration of trademarks in the EU without a costly upfront fee.

The service offers a package of necessary services for the entire application process such as;

• Trademark Search Report
• Classification Work
• Application Service
• Trademark Watching Service
• Management service during the first two years of the registered trademark

Simple and easy enough?
No time to waste, apply for a registration of your trademark already today and don’t worry about the possible mistakes anymore!

Visit instantm.com to apply and get more information.

Author

Lina Rundbom is a Business Manager at instanTM where she helps companies to apply for trademark protection before branding.