Brand protection

Brand protection

There are a number of things to consider when seeking to register and protect your brands, says Lara Haidar from The Rights Lawyers.

October 22, 2009 2:29 by Lara Haidar

The Brand Protection Group in the UAE recently signed MoUs with authorities in China and Japan. Here’s a reminder on the dos and don’ts when you want to register your brand in the country.

Which marks?

There are many different types of marks (or brands), the registration of which grants different levels of protection. There are word marks (eg, Nike) and a registration for the same means that no one else can use a mark which includes, or is similar to, that word.

There are stylized versions of word marks (eg, the particular font in which “Coca-Cola” is written on the can) and a registration for this protects the actual way the words are depicted and gives different protection than for the words alone.

There are also logos (eg, the Mercedes three-point star in a circle), slogans (Nike’s “Just Do It”) and combinations/permutations of these with numbers, figures, etc.

You should seek to register the brands that are key to you, that you are using as a standalone identifier of the origin of your goods/services. Normally, word mark registrations are essential as they protect the key brand in any occurrence (with any background, font, additions or colors).

Which countries?

A good starting point is where you sell or plan to sell your products/services. A further consideration is which countries your business/brand will be operational in, say, eight-12 months.

The reason is that the trade marks process can take a while, particularly if you are doing a number of applications at once. You will be looking at an average of six months minimum from the date of application.

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Tags: brand, copyrights, court case, laws, logos, protection, slogans, trademarks