A trademark is a recognisable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organisation, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher or on the product itself. For the sake of corporate identity trademarks are also being displayed on company buildings
Why is it Important?
The law does not require it, but you should register your business name as a trademark. That way, if another business tries to use the same or similar name, you can stop it. Trademarks help you distinguish your products and services from those of competitors and help identify you as the source. Trademarks indicate a consistent level of quality of your products and services. Awareness of your brand and the goodwill embodied in your trademark can often take decades to establish.
As branding strategies are becoming increasingly international, businesses with a strong local reputation must take action to register their trademarks to protect their rights in a brand name. Ideally registration should be done when a business is set up so that further expansion is not restricted. When setting up a new business, do not assume that just because a company name or domain name is available it can be used. It may infringe against a trademark which may later prevent the new business’s ongoing operation. We advise clients do some prior research when establishing a company before they invest large amounts of time and money on initial branding.