General issues during Trademark Registration

Steps to be followed while Trademark Registration:

1)    Search for your trademark: The first step requires you to have an obscure search to check whether or not your company name is already registered. Mostly, this is done by trademark agents who have a finesse in this field and bring to you the most refined details of any name that is even near to yours. There are two types of search- Online and Offline. Both searches must be done in order to avoid any problem at a later stage.

2)    Create a Trademark application: Once the business name or logo is found to be unique, the trademark agent will draft an application for acquiring the trademark. As soon as you apply for the trademark, you can start using the symbol ™ alongside your name or symbol that is going to be the trademark.

3)    Register your Trademark: At the Trademark Office, your application will be checked to see if it has already been taken or not. If it has, an objection will be raised. If not, it will be accepted and if there is no opposition from other businesses in the near four months, the trademark will be registered within six months.

TRADEMARK ISSUES: 

1)     DECEPTIVE: Infringement of a registered trademark happens when a person uses a particular trademark in course of trade and the mark is similar to or very closely related to the registered trademark.

2)    UNFAIR ADVANTAGE: Some entities in small areas look for opportunities to use big names in places where they are relatively less known or people are less informed about and manufacture/sell goods under their names. This leads to a fraud where the undue advantage of established firms take place.

3)    REPUTATION: The reputation of big firms come under a scanner as if clone products come into the market, people who know about it become suspicious about the company and it comes under the scanner. The reputation gets tarred.

4)    UNREFINED SEARCH: While trademarking one’s product or name, people might think they have done enough research but if they fall short in it and have skipped the fact that their respective name has already been registered or has been trademarked then it leads to an objection. They have to now search for another name and start the whole process again.

5)    UNACCOUNTABLE TRADEMARK: Sometimes, your product or name has already been trademarked by some other person but it does not come on the front page because it has not been registered or some issue unknown. This deception does not obstruct your path and you go ahead with registering your trademark only to realise later that this is an issue.

REMEDIES:

1)    Appointment of a local commissioner: The authorised government can appoint a local commissioner who will have an eye over the trademark application and look out for the frauds happening in his area.

2)    Involving the Police: After the commissioner has done his work he will need the help of the police in order to complete his task. Also, the police have to have their guards on and be vigilant. 

3)    Refined Search: In order to avoid any scene, the legal entity looking for trademark has to make sure he has no loose thread from his end. He has to make his search as refined as possible since this is the foundation of the whole process.

4)    Hiring an attorney: Taking official help from a Trademark agency ensures authenticity and saves you from all the extra trouble of the registration process.

While registering, one must keep the aforementioned points in mind and proceed accordingly. In a case of any issue, the attorney dealing with you will make sure the problem is resolved and nothing comes in your way while you register logo for your brand.